Ayodhya, July 24 -- In an outreach in the aftermath of the alleged Ram temple donation theft controversy, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad functionaries held deliberations with nearly 200 prominent seers of Ayodhya on Thursday. Kaushal Kishore, prant pracharak of RSS, came from Lucknow to attend the meeting in which senior VHP functionaries, including the organisation's international general secretary Bajrang Lal Bagra were also present. During the meeting, the seers asserted the need for a greater role in the main body of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust and the inclusion of a prominent seer of Ayodhya as a trustee. The development comes a day after five Ayodhya seers were inducted into the reconstituted nine-member Dharmik committee (religious committee) of the Trust at a meeting on Wednesday (July 22), giving them a key role in the day-to-day functioning of the Ram temple. The Thursday's meeting is seen as part of an attempt to contain the fallout from the alleged irregularities ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections due in early 2027. People aware of the matter said it was organised to reassure devotees. According to sources, "restoration of Ayodhya's image" emerged as one of the central themes of the discussions, with participants expressing concern over the political controversy triggered by the alleged theft of devotees' offerings and its "impact on the reputation of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust." The participants called for strict adherence to the Vaishnav-Ramanandi tradition in temple rituals. Sources said there was broad agreement among the seers that followers of Sanatan Dharma should unite against those who, according to participants, had "sought to damage the image" of Sanatan Dharma and "misled or provoked" the public over the theft issue. The meeting began at around 3.30 pm at Shri Ram Satsang Bhavan in Maniram Das Chhawani. "The state government has constituted an SIT into donation-theft. Whosoever is guilty will not be spared. There should be no malicious campaign against Ram Mandir. It is just an incident and all accused are in jail," said Mithlesh Nandini Sharan, a prominent seer of Ayodhya who was inducted into the reconstituted dharmik committee. "A probe is still going on and if anyone else is found guilty, they too will be behind bars," Sharan added. "Since Ram Mandir was inaugurated, we have been demanding a major role for Ayodhya's sadhus in the Trust. Today, in the meeting, we also raised the issue," said Sharan. Mahant Kamal Nayan Das, who will succeed Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, head of Mani Ram Das Chhavni, dubbed the post- donation theft news on social media as a smear campaign against Ram temple. Representation in Trust Three posts of trustees are vacant, including those of the late Vimalendra Mohan Pratap Mishra, along with the positions vacated by Trust general secretary Champat Rai and Anil Mishra due to their resignations. New trustees will be appointed on all three vacant posts. At Wednesday's executive committee meeting, no decision could be taken on the issue. "Now, Ayodhya's seers must be given representation in the Trust's main body as a Trustee," said Gauri Shankar Das of Hanuman Garhi. Earlier, during Wednesday's meeting, the trust reconstituted its religious committee to oversee temple rituals, religious ceremonies and festivals. However, the temple trust deferred decisions on appointing a permanent general secretary, filling three vacant trustee posts and selecting the temple's first CEO, saying these issues would be taken up after further consultations. Ayodhya has become a hotbed of frantic activity since the reports of embezzlement of Ram temple donations in June. Following a preliminary inquiry by a Special Investigation Team (SIT), an FIR was registered on June 25, and eight people allegedly involved in the theft were arrested. Police said they recovered cash, gold, silver, foreign currency and a donation box labelled "Ramrajya Kosh" during the investigation. The controversy also led to the resignations of former general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra....