It’s the season of Ram Lalla’s long-awaited return to Ayodhya as the grand Ram Mandir is about to be inaugurated on January 22. But there is a “scam” galore in the name of Lord Ram. Some companies are selling Laddoos openly on Amazon India, claiming them to be ‘Ram Mandir Ka Prasad’. Not only this, merchandises in the name of Lord Ram are being sold on certain websites, surprisingly, being advertised by some celebrities.
‘Bihari Brothers’ is selling 250 gm ‘Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad’ for Rs 299 on Amazon where pictures of Laddos also have a ceremonial flower inside while the packet reads ‘Raghupati Laddoo Prasadam’. However, in smaller fonts, it is mentioned that the ‘Ram Mandir Prasad’ is actually ‘Amawa Ram Mandir’ — another temple of Ayodhya, situated in Ramkot.
It seems ‘Bihari Brothers’ has its hands on other varieties as well. It is also offering ‘Bundi Laddoos’ made out of desi ghee, which too is marketed as ‘Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad’. This too weighs 250 gm while it costs Rs 350 on Amazon that too after a “22% discount”. In one of the advertisements of these ‘Bundi Laddoos’, it reads, ‘Ram Mandir Ke Prasad Ki Taiyariyan Shuru. Bann rahe hai 1.11 lakh Laddoos”.
Another company — ‘Awadh Store’ is selling 1 Kg Laddoos for Rs 799, claiming they are from Ram Janmabhoomi, and made by specialists at Tirupati temple. The page on Amazon website claims, “Ram Janam Bhumi Ayodhya ka Raghupati Laddoo Prasad, Tirupati Bala ji ke Karigaro Dwara Banyaya Hua Shuddh Gai Se Bana Hua (1Kg).”
Meanwhile, ‘Bihari Brothers’ is also selling ‘desi cow milk pedas’, which too are being sold on Amazon as “Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad”. A pack of 250 gm is sold for Rs 385 to innocent devotees.
Meanwhile, another website, Khadi Organic, is claiming to deliver home Ram Mandir Prasad for free while the company is not even affiliated to either Ram Mandir Teerth Kshetra or any outfit such as Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). The company is run by one Ashish Singh who claims to be working for Meta (Facebook). This free Prasad promise brings huge traffic to the website that helps it sell its other merchandises such as Ram Mandir T-shirts for Rs 399 and Tulsi Mala with a locket of Lord Hanuman for Rs 999. The company also sells Ram Mandir flags, miniature wooden temples, and Ganga Jal among other items. The website has received so much traffic that it has “suspended” its free Prasad from January 14.
But how do they manage to give free Prasad? In their own words, “We will contribute our Prasad during the first-day of Puja, hoping for divine guidance from Lord Hanuman. We’ll carefully mix this Prasad and then package it with care, aiming to ship it to all devotees.” The company has called it a “selfless effort”. It received a boost when singer Maithili Thakur decided to lend her voice in support of the company’s endeavours.
But the VHP, the outfit that led the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, is furious with this latest fad after dealing with fake VIP entry pass promises for the January 22 event, and a dubious donation drive in the name of Ram Mandir to scam devotees. VHP Spokesperson Vindo Bansal told News18 that the VHP is “deeply concerned”. “Our legal team is exploring all possibilities. We may file a police complaint in the next 24 hours against these companies. We cannot let this happen.”
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