New Delhi/Varanasi | An FIR was registered on Saturday in Varanasi against Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and MPs Pappu Yadav and Awadhesh Prasad for allegedly hurting religious sentiments over their skit on the Ram temple donation theft in the Parliament complex, while BJP leaders, including MP Bansuri Swaraj, filed a police complaint in Delhi.
The Varanasi Police registered the case against the three opposition leaders based on a formal complaint submitted at Kotwali police station by seers alleging that these MPs insulted Sanatan Dharma, according to Gaurav Banswal, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Kashi Zone.
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 maintenance of harmony) and 299 (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs).
They have also been booked under BNS sections 302 (uttering words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings of any person) and 3(5) (A criminal act done by several persons in furtherance of the common intention of all), a police official posted at the Kotwali police station said.
Swaraj, the MP from New Delhi, accompanied by BJP MLAs, submitted the complaint at the Parliament Street police station, alleging that the opposition leaders mocked the Sanatan culture in 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.
"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 said.
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.
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.
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 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.
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 on issues of alleged donation theft and the use of force against students during their protests over the NEET paper leak.