New Delhi: Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien on Friday questioned the Enforcement Directorate's decision to freeze three of the party's bank accounts, asking when the agency would freeze "temple funds," in an apparent reference to allegations of misappropriated donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

"ED freezes TMC's 3 bank accounts with HDFC. When will ED freeze temple funds," O'Brien, who serves as the Trinamool's national joint secretary, stated in a post on social media platform X.

The politician's comments come amidst mounting demands from opposition parties for a judicial investigation into alleged financial irregularities within the donation management system of the Ram temple.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) announced on Wednesday that it had frozen three bank accounts belonging to the Trinamool Congress (TMC), containing deposits totalling 4,400 million rupees, under anti-money laundering legislation following raids connected to an alleged misappropriation of funds case.

The central law enforcement agency specified in a statement that the freeze orders were issued under Section 17 (1A) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The legal provision empowers the ED to freeze assets, including bank deposits, in circumstances where the physical seizure of such property is impractical, and it is deemed crucial to prevent the asset from being transferred or otherwise manipulated.

PTI