Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad on Monday called for an investigation into alleged irregularities in land deals that took place in and around Ayodhya after the Supreme Court’s November 2019 verdict permitting the construction of the Ram temple, reported The Indian Express.

The Lok Sabha MP from Faizabad, which includes the Ayodhya Assembly segment, said that land was bought on a “grand scale” in Ayodhya after November 2019. “Irregularities were done in the land [deals],” Prasad claimed in the Lok Sabha.

The Ram temple is being built on the site of the Babri mosque, which was demolished by Hindutva extremists in December 1992 because they believed that it stood on the spot where the Hindu deity Ram was born. The incident had triggered communal riots across the country.

The temple was consecrated in a ceremony led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 22 even though its construction is not expected to be completed before December.

In November 2019, the Supreme Court held the demolition of the Babri mosque to be illegal but handed over the land to a trust for the construction of a Ram temple. It also directed that a five-acre plot in Ayodhya be given to Muslims for the construction of a mosque.

“There is one piece of land worth Rs 2 crore that was sold for Rs 18 crore,” Prasad alleged on Monday. “Those buyers are none other than BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] people. They destroyed farmers. That is why the public is upset.”

The MP demanded that Parliament constitute a committee to investigate the alleged irregularities. He also emphasised the need to identify the buyers in these land deals. “That report should be tabled in the House to make things clear,” he said.

Since the Supreme Court’s verdict, there has been a 30% increase in land transactions in 25 villages in Ayodhya, as well as villages in Gonda and Basti districts that are located within 15 kilometres of the Ram temple, The Indian Express reported earlier this month. Many transactions are linked to politicians, senior government officials and their relatives.

The land rush accompanying the temple’s construction also drew in large firms like the Adani Group and Lodha, Scroll reported in January. It created a set of local beneficiaries often connected to the BJP.

On Monday, Prasad claimed that the BJP had cheated the people of Ayodhya as neither the district nor Uttar Pradesh had found mention in the Union Budget presented on July 23.

“The BJP has done politics and business in the name of Ayodhya,” he said. “With a pained heart I am saying this today that the development of Ayodhya has been completely neglected because I am a Dalit.”

Prasad won the Faizabad constituency in the 2024 general election, defeating the BJP’s Lallu Singh by over 50,000 votes.

“Whether it is Ram Path or aerodrome or any other construction, people’s houses have been demolished using bulldozers,” he said. “That is why the BJP was rejected completely.”

In the run-up to polling, the BJP cited the construction of the Ram temple as one of its achievements during its second term in power at the Centre. The Hindutva party also criticised Opposition parties for not supporting its endeavour.

Also read: In Ayodhya, firm linked to BJP leaders sold ecologically sensitive land to Adani – for a big profit