Ram Temple skit row: Seers file complaints against Rahul, Akhilesh, Pappu Yadav

Pappu Yadav and Rahul Gandhi during the protest

NEW DELHI: Seers and lawyers in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi on Saturday filed separate police complaints against independent Lok Sabha MP Pappu Yadav, Lok Sabha leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders over their enactment of the alleged Ram Temple donation theft incident.Both sets of complainants alleged that their religious sentiments were “hurt.”“Through the act carried out by Pappu Yadav outside Parliament, he has insulted the saffron robe, the saint community, and Lord Ram. A complaint has been filed against all the opposition leaders involved, and we have demanded legal action against them,” seer Balakdas Devacharya said.The lawyers accused the opposition of “insulting” Sanatan Dharma.“We have lodged a complaint over what we believe was an insult to Sanatan Dharma that took place in Parliament yesterday. We have sought the registration of a case against Pappu Yadav and Rahul Gandhi. We submitted a written complaint, not merely a memorandum, to the Cantonment police authorities,” advocate Vineet Kumar Singh told reporters.

The complaints came after the Parliament complex on Friday became the site of a political street play, with saffron-clad Pappu Yadav and other opposition MPs staging a symbolic protest over allegations of embezzlement of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Samajwadi Party (SP) MPs Awadhesh Prasad and Dharmendra Yadav, and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MP Mahua Maji were among those who took part in the protest at Makar Dwar.Awadhesh Prasad represents the Faizabad constituency, which includes Ayodhya. The SP is Uttar Pradesh’s main opposition party and is seeking to return to power after a decade when the state holds elections in February-March 2027.