Claim
For one and a half years the RSS top leadership had been asking Champat Rai to appoint professionals and build a system, but he kept stalling and blocked a finalized CEO appointment by claiming Nanaji Deshmukh had once vetoed that person's appointment in Chitrakoot.
“डेढ़ साल से आरएसएस की टॉप लीडरशिप उनसे कुछ प्रोफेशनल्स को अपॉइंट करने की बात कह रही थी... पर चंपत राय टालते रहे। जिद पर अड़े रहे। एक सीईओ का नाम फाइनल हो गया था। चंपत जी ने सीईओ की नियुक्ति यह कहकर रोक दी कि एक बार नानाजी देशमुख ने चित्रकूट में इस व्यक्ति को अपॉइंट करने से रोक दिया था।”▶ Watch source segment
Rationale
The distinctive core of the claim — that Champat Rai blocked a finalized CEO appointment by invoking a past veto by Nanaji Deshmukh in Chitrakoot, after RSS leadership pressed him for one and a half years — appears only in Rajat Sharma's own Aaj Ki Baat commentary (reproduced by India TV) and is not attributed to any named official or document. No fact-checker (AltNews, BOOM, Factly, Newschecker, PIB) or independent wire/primary source confirms the Nanaji Deshmukh/Chitrakoot detail or the specific 1.5-year timeline. Independent reporting does corroborate the surrounding context (RSS pushing professionalization, an active CEO-appointment discussion, and Champat Rai being sidelined amid the June 2026 donation-scam probe), but the specific, insider assertion at the heart of the claim cannot be independently verified or refuted from available evidence.
Evidence
- https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/opinion-champat-rai-did-bloated-ego-cause-his-downfall-aaj-ki-baat-with-rajat-sharma-2026-06-30-1046666 India TV's own written version of Rajat Sharma's Aaj Ki Baat carries the claim nearly verbatim: 'For the last one and a half year, the RSS top leadership had been prodding him to appoint some professionals... The name of a CEO was almost finalised, but Champat Rai obstructed, saying the late Nanaji Deshmukh had once prevented that person from being appointed to a post several decades ago.' This is the same source as the broadcast, so it is not independent corroboration. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.deccanherald.com/india/uttar-pradesh/ram-temple-missing-fund-row-trust-may-appoint-ceo-cm-adityanath-snubs-champat-rai-4043701 Independently corroborates the surrounding context: the state government sought legal opinion on appointing a CEO to the Trust and CM Adityanath sidelined Champat Rai amid the donation-fund row. Does not mention the Nanaji Deshmukh/Chitrakoot veto detail. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.amarujala.com/lucknow/ram-mandir-offering-theft-sit-recommends-serving-officer-not-retired-one-for-trust-ceo-post-2026-06-30 SIT recommended installing a CEO structure at the Trust for better management, with names like Nripendra Mishra and Yogeshwar Ram Mishra circulating — corroborates the professionalization/CEO push but not the claim that a name was 'finalized' earlier and blocked by Champat Rai. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/india/rss-breaks-silence-condemns-ram-mandir-theft-urges-hindus-to-be-patient/ RSS's Dattatreya Hosabale's statement confirms RSS involvement/concern over the Ram temple donation issue and Champat Rai's exit, but contains no mention of a 1.5-year push or the Nanaji Deshmukh Chitrakoot veto episode. ✓ reachable · archived