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Baba Lal Das

Baba Lal Das was first ever Mahant (Chief Hindu Priest) of the idols of the deity Rama placed within the Babri Masjid complex in Ayodhya He was appointed to his position by the Lucknow High Court in 1981. Lal Das was a fierce critic of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal and he criticized these groups in the 1992 documentary Ram ke Naam. Lal Das was also a fervent adversary of the L. K. Advani-led Rath Yatra; this was published as 'Priest asks Advani to halt yatra’ in Times of India in October 30, 1990. He branded the entire Ram Mandir movement as a gimmick to gain Hindu votes in Indian elections. Instead, he spoke about the number of Hindu temples were funded and built in Ayodhya by the Muslim rulers of Awadh. In an interview with human rights lawyer Flavia Agnes, he moreover accused that  huge sums of money collected in the name of Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas, were later embezzled by various political leaders of upper caste origins, for their personal gain. This allegation was later corroborated by the likes of Jnandas, Hanuman Garhiya Mahant and Vishwanath Prasad Acharya.