In a way, Thackeray has made the Ayodhya donations row a matter of some consequence for the entire state. With the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief at the helm, the protest is being sold as a test of accountability. He has no time for party politics here and has asked any Ram bhakt to come forward, with the BJP in his crosshairs over the misappropriation claims.
Speaking on July 3, 2026, Thackeray laid out the plan: start in Mumbai, then let it percolate to every district. He put it down to the kind of anger you see in the streets, saying if you are fed up with the supposed large-scale thievery at the Ram temple, you should make your voice heard and get some answers.
What has him riled up
You can put it down to the talk in the public sphere about money going missing at the Ayodhya temple. Thackeray has made that the crux of his appeal for a protest. He has warned there won’t be any room for what he calls 'loot in the name of Hindutva‘ and wants those responsible to be made to pay.
It all came to light on 7th June. By 25th June, after a Special Investigation Team for the U.P. government put in a report, an FIR was in the books. They’ve already put eight people in custody for their role in the donation and counting side of things, and the S.I.T. is still at it.
The way the protests will go
Mark your calendars for July 5, 2026. We will be at the Hanuman temple in Dadar West for the opening. After we have done with the Ram Raksha Stotra, the Hanuman Chalisa and the Maruti Stotra, Thackeray and his team will be off to other temples in the state to continue the campaign.
He has put out an open invitation to Ram devotees, even to the extent of asking for some of the BJP’s own leaders and workers to be there. For this first round, he says, we are only looking at the alleged looting of the temple funds; there will be more to come.
Here is what Thackeray has put on the table:
– We begin in Mumbai on July 5, 2026
– The scene is the Hanuman temple in Dadar West
– There will be recitations of the Ram Raksha and Hanuman Chalisa
– Then we take it to the Ram and Hanuman temples all over
– The door is open to any Hindu, even a BJP man
Some of Thackeray’s hard lines
Thackeray has been in no mood to hold back. He has a bone to pick with the BJP for using the Ram temple cause and the years of sacrifice that went with it for their own ends. He has pointed to the hard times for Hindus – from the karsevaks to the Godhra train, the Ahmedabad and Mumbai blasts – as evidence of where they stand.
He has also called out the horse-trading and the defections by the ones in power. Is there an ‘Operation Ram Mandir’ in the works? he wants to know. With all the noise online about the money, he wonders if the stolen cash is what is being used to buy off the opposition. To put it in Vajpayee’s words, ‘Ab Hindu maaf nahi karega’.
Where the probe stands
If you look at the dates, the case was made public on 7th June. The FIR followed on the 25th, once the SIT had a look in. Eight have been cuffed for their part in the donations. As far as the authorities are concerned, they are still working on it.
Why it matters in Maharashtra
This comes at a time when the BJP and the Shiv Sena (UBT) are not on speaking terms, especially after six of our MP’s made the switch to the other side of the house. We see it as a ploy to put some numbers behind the NDA for the delimitation bill.
I will be in Ayodhya next week to put my point of view on a few other things, but right now the donations case is what counts. You can’t just wave a ‘Mandir wahi banayenge’ flag and expect us to forget about the wrongs being done. The sacrifices of the Ram temple movement are not to be made a joke of.
So, what you can look for in the coming days:
– Protests in every corner of the state after we get started in Mumbai
– My trip to Ayodhya
– More to say from the Sena next week
