Varanasi police have registered a case against Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and other MPs, following a protest held inside the Parliament complex that was staged in a street-play format. The complaint alleges that the demonstration insulted Sanatana Dharma and hurt religious sentiments.
The protest was organised by MPs of the INDIA alliance to oppose police action taken during a student march towards Parliament in Delhi on July 20. The march was linked to allegations of irregularities in offerings at the Ayodhya Ram temple.
During the Parliament protest, donation boxes were placed on the steps leading to the entrance, in a depiction related to the alleged offering scam. Rahul Gandhi and other MPs were seen putting money into the boxes, while Independent MP Pappu Yadav, dressed in saffron, acted as if he was pocketing the money.
A group of seers later filed a complaint at the Kotwali police station in Varanasi, claiming that Lord Ram and Sanatana Dharma were disrespected during the act. Based on the complaint, police booked Rahul Gandhi, Pappu Yadav and Avadhesh Prasad for allegedly insulting Sanatana Dharma and hurting religious sentiments.
