SP questions Ram Temple Trust CEO selection process, demands HC supervised panel

Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad criticised the reported selection process for the first CEO of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, demanding High Court supervision. A search committee has shortlisted candidates amid plans to appoint the temple trust’s first CEO

New Delhi: Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad on Tuesday criticised the report concerning the selection process for the CEO of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, saying the Trust had not been given any authority in the matter and reiterating his demand for a committee to be constituted under the supervision of the High Court.

“Whatever has happened has no meaning, and the Trust has not been given any authority in this matter. We have said this many times, and our leader Akhilesh ji has also said that a committee should have been constituted under the supervision of the High Court, because this is a major issue,” Prasad said.

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“Those who are responsible and accountable should be held responsible. This incident has happened to protect those who are responsible, and there is no meaning to this report. The entire country will one day raise its voice against this, and the Bharatiya Janata Party and its associates will have to face the consequences,” he added.

Meanwhile, a search committee has been formed to select the first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. The committee held its first meeting on September 11 and finalised the eligibility criteria for the post.

Applications will now be invited from eligible and interested candidates. The selection committee for the first CEO of the Ram Temple is scheduled to submit the names of three shortlisted candidates to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust on Tuesday.

The final report of the selection process will be submitted to the Trust at the Ram Janmabhoomi premises. The trustees are likely to announce the name of the temple’s first CEO during an important meeting scheduled for Wednesday.

The members of the committee constituted to conduct the CEO interviews have arrived in Ayodhya. The panel comprises retired Justice Pramod Kohli, retired Lieutenant General Vishnu Kant Chaturvedi and expert member Suresh Hawade.

The series of meetings will begin at 2 p.m. on Wednesday at Maniramdas Cantonment, where several key decisions concerning the Trust are likely to be taken.

The appointment of the temple’s first CEO comes in the wake of the reported theft of offerings at the Ram Temple. The Trust is also likely to formally fill another vacant official position during the meeting. Two important positions became vacant following the resignations of Champat Rai and Anil Mishra, who had served as senior office-bearers of the Ram Temple Trust.