Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and MPs Pappu Yadav and Awadhesh Prasad were booked in Varanasi on Saturday for allegedly hurting religious sentiments over their skit on the Ram temple donation theft in the Parliament complex. In Delhi, BJP leaders, including MP Bansuri Swaraj, also filed a police complaint against the MPs. The Varanasi FIR The Varanasi Police registered a case against the leaders based on a formal complaint by seers alleging that these MPs insulted Sanatan Dharma, according to news agency PTI, citing Gaurav Banswal, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Kashi Zone.
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The FIR was filed in Varanasi after seers alleged that Rahul Gandhi, Pappu Yadav, and Awadhesh Prasad insulted Sanatan Dharma through their skit, which was performed in Parliament. BJP leaders claimed that the opposition MPs mocked Sanatan culture during their protest, which they deemed as an insult to Indian traditions and hurtful to the faith of the community. During the skit, Pappu Yadav and other MPs dressed in saffron outfits symbolically placed money into donation boxes while Yadav pretended to steal money, highlighting allegations of embezzlement related to the Ram temple donations. The FIR cites various sections, including promoting enmity based on religion, deliberate acts intended to outrage religious feelings, and actions committed in furtherance of a common intention. VHP and Bajrang Dal activists protested against the skit in Madhya Pradesh, condemning the opposition leaders for their actions, which they viewed as disrespectful to Lord Ram and Sanatan Dharma. The case was registered under various BNS sections, including:
196: Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony.
299: Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs. 302: Uttering words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person 3(5): A criminal act done by several persons in furtherance of the common intention of all. Seer Jagatguru Balak Das said the manner in which Pappu Yadav insulted Lord Ram and Sanatan Dharma in the House was unforgivable.
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“No follower of Sanatan Dharma can forget this act. It has hurt our religious sentiments.
So we have demanded that a case be registered,” he said. BJP leaders complaint Bansuri Swaraj, the MP from New Delhi, accompanied by BJP MLAs, submitted a complaint at the Parliament Street police station, alleging that opposition leaders mocked Sanatan culture under the garb of the protest. “Yesterday, on the Parliament premises, under the guise of a protest, MPs Pappu Yadav ji, Awadhesh Prasad ji and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi ji staged a drama. This was not a protest. It was a mockery of Sanatan culture, a ridicule of the saint community, and a scornful insult to Indian traditions,” she said. “In a democracy, the Constitution certainly gives you the right to protest, but it does not permit you to hurt the faith of any community….
that is why we have come to the police station today. We have submitted a complaint, sought the registration of an FIR, and requested an immediate investigation into the matter,” Swaraj added. The controversial skit Pappu Yadav, dressed in a saffron outfit, performed the skit along with other Opposition MPs in front of the Makar Dwar at the Parliament complex on Friday to protest the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The MPs, including Gandhi, put money inside the donation boxes, while Independent MP Rajesh Ranjan, known as Pappu Yadav, slipped money into his pockets to symbolise the alleged theft at the Ram temple.
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Yadav is an Independent MP from Purnia constituency in Bihar, while Awadhesh Prasad is the Samajwadi Party MP from Faizabad (Ayodhya) seat in Uttar Pradesh. VHP, Bajrang Dal protest against skit Activists of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal on Saturday held a protest in Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal against the opposition leaders over their skit. The protesters raised slogans against Rahul Gandhi and tried to march from Vyapam Square to Link Road but were stopped by police barricades. Some activists tried to cross the barricades, leading to scuffles. Opposition protests at Parliament On Friday, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi were part of the protest against the “theft” of donations and police crackdown on student agitators during the Cockroach Janta Party’s July 20 march to Parliament. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Samajwadi Party’s Awadhesh Prasad and Dharmendra Yadav and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s Mahua Maji were among the others who participated in the protest, standing behind a big banner that read: “Amit Shah Sadan Se Gayab Kyun?”
The INDIA bloc has tried to corner the government during the Monsoon session over allegations of donation theft and the use of force against students during their protests over the NEET paper leak. (With agency inputs)
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