Controversies over paper leaks, irregularities in the conduct of examinations, and allegations of pilferage of offerings to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya will be among the key issues discussed at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s upcoming meeting in Karnataka, people aware of the matter said.

They added that the top brass of the RSS will convene in Hubbali, Karnataka, from July 7 for the annual Prant Pracharak Baithak.

“The three-day meeting, scheduled between July 10-12 will take stock of organisational issues and activities planned as part of the Sangh’s ongoing centenary celebrations. However, the avoidable controversy over Ayodhya (donation row) and public anger over paper leaks will be discussed as these have a direct bearing on the Sangh as well as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party,” said a functionary aware of the details, asking not to be named.

The meeting, which RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, the Sangh’s national office bearers, and the BJP president will attend, will take stock of the serious allegations made against Champat Rai, the senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad functionary who has offered his resignation from the Ayodhya temple Trust.

Although the Sangh and the VHP leadership have distanced themselves from the issue, pointing out that an SIT probe will uncover the truth, there is consternation within the Sangh over the delay in taking action , a second functionary said.

“He [Champat Rai] was the General Secretary of the [Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra] Trust, and a section of Sangh leaders feels this is a case of crime of commission versus omission. Action should have been taken as soon as the murmurs of irregularities surfaced… the allegations have cast a shadow on the struggle for the Ramjanmabhoomi Aandolan that the Sangh led,” added this person, who too asked not to be named.

The Trust will meet on July 7 to discuss the resignation of Rai, and trustee Anil Mishra.

VHP, an offshoot of the RSS that was at the forefront of the Ramjanmabhoomi movement has also refrained from defending Rai. In a statement, Alok Kumar, the international president of VHP, said the Trust is an autonomous body and decisions taken by Rai in his capacity as general secretary are a liability of the Trust itself, and the VHP, the RSS, or the central government cannot be held responsible.

However, the explanation has not appeased the opposition, which has doubled down on its efforts to target the government. The Congress’ Jairam Ramesh posted on X: “PM Modi’s silence on the looting in Shri Ram Mandir is a direct assault on the religious faith of crores of people in the country. The Modi government formed the trust without any transparent criteria or public consultation, including RSS members in it. Then the entire trust was also kept out of RTI… Modi ji, break your silence.”

Expecting the issue to snowball into a political controversy ahead of the Uttar Pradesh elections, which could be held late this year or early next year, the Sangh wants its cadre to manage the damage.

“The allegations (of siphoning off donations) are very serious and have damaged the tapasya (penance) that our leaders did for decades to build the temple. The other issue is that it weakened the campaign that temples should be managed by the Hindu Samaj and not the government,” said the second functionary.

While the Sangh is expected to work out a model for temple governance, it is equally concerned about the unrest among students. A third functionary said that at a time when the Sangh is striving to expand its global outreach and build ties with the younger demographic, there is pressure on the organisation to take a stand on the issue of paper leaks.

“The government has made amends and is ensuring zero tolerance for such incidents, but there is no denying the resonance this issue has on the ground. Every strata of society is impacted…” the third functionary said on condition of anonymity.

The Prant Pracharak Baithak is expected to be renamed next year as the Sangh has announced replacing Prant (provincial) Pracharaks with State Pracharak and Sambhag (division) Pracharaks. While the restructuring announcement was made earlier this year, the process of designing the modalities for the revamped organisational structure is underway and will likely be announced at the next Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha in March next year. The meeting will subsequently be renamed.