NEW DELHI: Varanasi Police on Saturday registered a case against leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and two other MPs for allegedly “insulting Sanatan Dharma” and “hurting religious sentiments” during an opposition protest in Parliament, an official said.Rahul Gandhi, independent MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, Samajwadi Party’s (SP) Awadhesh Prasad, and several other opposition parliamentarians had on Friday enacted a skit depicting the alleged theft of offerings from the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.Pappu Yadav and Awadhesh Prasad have also been named in the FIR. While Pappu Yadav, dressed in saffron robes, portrayed a temple priest who “stole” the offerings, Awadhesh Prasad represents the Faizabad constituency, which includes Ayodhya.According to Gaurav Banswal, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Kashi Zone, an FIR was registered based on a formal complaint submitted at Kotwali police station by some seers, who alleged that the trio had “insulted” Sanatan Dharma in Parliament.Seer Jagatguru Balak Das described Pappu Yadav’s conduct as “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,” PTI quoted him as saying.On Friday, MPs of the Congress-led opposition INDIA bloc held a protest over the alleged Ram Temple donation theft and police action against student agitators during their July 20 Parliament march.The opposition leaders staged a skit to highlight the alleged temple donation theft. As part of the protest, they placed donation boxes near the stairs leading to the Makar Dwar of Parliament. MPs, including Rahul Gandhi, put money into the boxes, while Pappu Yadav, who sat nearby, was shown slipping it into his pockets.
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Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, SP’s Dharmendra Yadav, and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s Mahua Maji were among those who participated in the protest.The SP is aggressively highlighting the issue ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections scheduled for February-March 2027. The Akhilesh Yadav-led party has been out of power since March 2017.
