Speaking to reporters in Ayodhya, Misra said he had not seen any such letter, which has been attributed to former Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai. He accused the media of spreading falsehood and attempting to create controversy around the issue.
“First of all, which letter?” Misra asked when reporters sought his response to the contents of the purported nine-page unsigned letter bearing Rai’s name.
“I have not seen any such letter and until I see the letter, I will only tell you (journalists) that perhaps this is a fabricated story of yours.
“Perhaps there is no such letter or such criticism, even if it is nine pages long. There has been no such criticism in it. These are only your fabricated things. You want to create a controversy everywhere and are presenting this before me only to create controversy,” Misra said.
The digitally typed letter, dated August 18 and attributed to Rai, surfaced on social media on Thursday and was subsequently reported by several media outlets.
PTI made repeated attempts on Thursday and Friday to contact Rai to establish whether he had written the letter, but there was no response.
The purported letter refers to Misra’s role in the construction of the Ram temple, the selection of agencies, decisions taken by the construction committee and the management of the 70-acre temple complex.
According to the letter, the Trust has 15 trustees and Misra was appointed chairman of the temple’s construction committee. It claims that Larsen & Toubro (L&T) was selected for the temple construction on Misra’s suggestion, while Noida-based Design Associate was chosen for the design and construction of other buildings.
The letter also alleges that Misra brought “some persons of his interest” into the construction committee. It claims that one of them visited Ayodhya only once or twice in six years, while another was consulted on security-related matters.
Former NBCC chairman Anoop Mittal, according to the letter, regularly attended the committee’s meetings with Misra.
It further claims that the construction committee met every month and, for some time, every 15 days, and that “every decision” related to the temple’s construction was taken by the committee, with Misra “always considering himself the chief” for all construction-related decisions.
The letter also credits Misra with overseeing the completion of the temple, stating that construction began in June 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic and was completed by June 2026.
Rai’s purported letter describes Mittal as Misra’s advisor on engineering matters and claims that he prepared written work related to construction committee meetings. It further alleges that Mittal’s son, civil engineer Yash Mittal, regularly attended the meetings and typed their proceedings on his laptop.
The contents of the unsigned letter could not be independently verified.
“The letter has several details that perhaps only Champat ji possibly knew of... we can’t confirm the authenticity of the letter,” a VHP functionary told PTI.
Rai is also the vice president of the VHP and has become more active in Ayodhya again after resigning as general secretary of the Trust amid the donation theft row. He has been meeting seers, some of whom are demanding that he be reinstated following a July 22 meeting of seers from various groups, temples and mutts in Ayodhya.
With Misra rejecting the viral document as fabricated and Rai yet to confirm its authorship, the authenticity of the nine-page unsigned letter remains unverified.
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