New Delhi

TrinamoolCongress Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien on Friday questioned the Enforcement Directorate freezing three bank accounts of the party, asking when it would freeze “temple funds”, in an apparent reference to the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya. “ED freezes TMC’s 3 bank accounts with HDFC. When will ED freeze temple funds,” O’Brien, Trinamool’s national joint secretary, said in a post on X. The remarks came amid the opposition’s demand for a judicial probe into the alleged financial irregularities in the Ram temple’s donation management system. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said it has frozen three bank accounts of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), with deposits worth Rs 440 crore, under the anti-money laundering law followingsearches in an alleged funds misappropriation case. The central agency said in a statement that the orders were issued under Section 17 (1A) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said the party will launch a nation-wide signature campaign seeking strict punishment for the culprits in the Ram temple donations theft controversy, saying people have to come together and raise their voice in the matter. Kejriwal also accused the Centre of protecting those responsible for the alleged theft of donations at Ram temple in Ayodhya. “It is the duty of every Sanatan follower to ensure strict punishment for those responsible for donations theft at the Ram temple. We will launch a signature campaign in which every citizen will sign a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating their appeal,” Kejriwal said.