The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday alleged corruption in land purchase by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, saying that land worth Rs 2 crore was bought at Rs 18.5 crore by the trust.

Sisodia said: “The Ram Janmabhoomi Trust bought 1,208 acres of land for Rs 18.5 crores on March 18. The land was bought from Ravi Mohan Tiwari and Sultan Ansari in the presence of Anil Mishra and Mayor of Ayodhya Rishikesh Upadhyaya who are members of the trust.

“The Ram Janmabhoomi Trust has purchased a piece of land in Ayodhya for Rs 18.5 crore. It was sold for just Rs  2 crore five minutes before it was bought by the Ram temple trust. There has been a scam in purchasing this land for the pious work of building the Ram temple. The Ram Janmabhoomi Trust must clarify why the land was bought at such a high price," he said.

Sisodia further said that the temple is being built using donations made by people and their sentiments are attached to it. “My request to them (Ram temple trust) is only that they should not play with the sentiments of the people who donated their hard-earned money for the temple," he said.

AAP senior leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, who was also present at the press conference, claimed Anil Mishra, trustee of the Ram temple trust, and Rishikesh Upadhyay, mayor of Ayodhya, were present during the finalisation of both the sale agreements.

“BJP leaders immediately came to the defence of all those involved in the scam.

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Trust should give a full account of the money received through donations by the people,” he said.

The trust’s general secretary Rai has strongly refuted the allegations, saying that the charges of assassinating Mahatma Gandhi were also levelled against us but we do not fear allegations. “I will study the allegations levelled against us and probe them," he said.