Rahul Gandhi and MPs Face Legal Action Over Alleged Insult to Sanatan Dharma
Legal Action Against Opposition Leaders
In Varanasi, police have initiated a case against Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, along with two other Members of Parliament. This action follows allegations of disrespecting Sanatan Dharma and offending religious sentiments during a protest held in Parliament, as confirmed by an official.
Deputy Commissioner of Police for Kashi Zone, Gaurav Banswal, stated that the FIR was lodged after a formal complaint was made at the Kotwali police station by several seers. They claimed that Rahul Gandhi, Pappu Yadav, and Awadhesh Prasad had insulted Sanatan Dharma within the parliamentary premises.
Pappu Yadav, an Independent MP representing Purnia in Bihar, and Awadhesh Prasad, a Samajwadi Party MP from Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh, are also named in the complaint.
Seer Jagatguru Balak Das expressed that Pappu Yadav's remarks about Lord Ram and Sanatan Dharma were intolerable, stating, "No follower of Sanatan Dharma can overlook this act. It has deeply hurt our religious sentiments, prompting us to demand legal action."
The incident occurred during a protest by the INDIA bloc MPs, which included Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi. They were demonstrating against the alleged theft of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and the police's response to student protests during a march on July 20.
During the protest, opposition MPs performed a skit to draw attention to the donation theft, placing donation boxes at the Parliament's Makar Dwar stairs. Rahul Gandhi and others contributed money to the boxes, while Pappu Yadav, dressed in saffron, was seen pocketing the donations.
The MPs also called for the resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah, questioning his absence from the parliamentary session. They chanted slogans like "Amit Shah istifa do" and "Amit Shah sadan mein aao".
Prominent figures in the protest included Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Awadhesh Prasad, Dharmendra Yadav from the Samajwadi Party, and Mahua Maji from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, all standing behind a large banner that read, "Amit Shah sadan se gayab kyun?"