New Delhi/Varanasi, Aug 1 (PTI) BJP leaders, including MP Bansuri Swaraj, filed a police complaint in Delhi on Saturday, demanding action against Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and MPs Pappu Yadav and Awadhesh Prasad for their skit during a protest on the Ram temple donation theft in the Parliament complex, while an FIR was filed in Varanasi against the three leaders.
Swaraj, the MP from New Delhi, accompanied by BJP MLAs, submitted the complaint at the Parliament Street police station, alleging that actions by Gandhi, Independent MP Pappu Yadav and Samajwadi Party’s Awadhesh Prasad were a “mockery” of Santan culture and an attempt to ridicule Indian traditions.
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.
As part of the skit, the MPs, including Gandhi, put money inside the boxes, while Independent MP Rajesh Ranjan, known as Pappu Yadav, slipped money into his pockets to symbolise the alleged theft at the Ram temple.
Varanasi Police also registered a case against the three opposition leaders based on a formal complaint submitted at Kotwali police station by some seers alleging that these MPs have insulted Sanatan Dharma, according to Gaurav Banswal, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Kashi Zone.
Yadav is an Independent MP from Purnia constituency in Bihar, while Awadhesh Prasad is the Samajwadi Party MP from Faizabad seat in Uttar Pradesh.
Seer Jagatguru Balak Das said the manner in which Pappu Yadav insulted Lord Ram and Sanatan Dharma in the House was unforgivable.
“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.
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 protsters raised slogans against Rahul Gandhi and they 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.
On Frday, 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 on issues of alleged donation theft and the use of force against students during their protests over the NEET paper leak.
