Rahul Gandhi, Pappu Yadav, Awadhesh Prasad booked for 'Sanatan Dharma insult' in Varanasi

The Varanasi police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and two other Members of Parliament — Rajesh Ranjan, popularly known as Pappu Yadav, and Awadhesh Prasad — on a complaint that they allegedly insulted Sanatan Dharma and hurt religious sentiments during an opposition protest near Parliament House in New Delhi on Friday.

The FIR was filed at the Kotwali police station on Saturday afternoon. The complaint was moved by Jagadguru Balak Das, the head of the Patalpuri Math, a religious institution in Varanasi associated with the Kashi Vishwanath temple. The police have invoked Sections 299 and 302 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which pertain to deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings, and offences relating to the defiling of a place of worship.

According to the complainant, the MPs committed "deliberate and malicious acts" intended to outrage religious feelings outside Parliament House. The incident occurred during a demonstration organised by the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc, which was protesting against the reported theft of donation boxes at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and the police action against student demonstrators during a march to Parliament on July 20.

As part of the protest, the MPs staged a skit to highlight the alleged theft. They placed donation boxes in front of the stairs leading to the Makar Dwar of Parliament and put money into the boxes. Pappu Yadav, dressed in saffron, sat near the boxes and slipped the currency notes into his pockets. The act was captured on camera and later shared on social media platforms.

Sanatan Dharma is a term commonly used to refer to the eternal duties and religious order in Hinduism, and is often invoked in public discourse. The seer, Jagadguru Balak Das, said the manner in which Mr. Yadav insulted Lord Ram and Sanatan Dharma 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.

The protest also saw the INDIA bloc MPs demand the resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah, questioning his absence from parliamentary proceedings. A banner behind the MPs read, "Amit Shah sadan se gayab kyun?" (Why is Amit Shah absent from the House?). Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Samajwadi Party's Awadhesh Prasad and Dharmendra Yadav, and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's Mahua Maji were among those who took part in the demonstration.

The Ram Temple in Ayodhya, a major Hindu pilgrimage site, has been a focal point of political activity since its consecration. The reported theft of donations from the temple's collection boxes has drawn widespread attention and led to opposition protests against the government.

An FIR is the first formal step in a criminal investigation. The police will now conduct an inquiry into the allegations and determine whether sufficient evidence exists to file a chargesheet. The three MPs named in the FIR — Rahul Gandhi, Pappu Yadav, and Awadhesh Prasad — have not yet responded publicly to the registration of the case.