Opposition Stages Unique Protest In Parliament Complex Over Ram Mandir Donation Theft Allegations; MP Pappu Yadav Arrives Dressed As Priest
The entire country witnessed an unusual protest in the Parliament complex on Friday over allegations of theft of Ram Mandir donations. Independent MP Pappu Yadav arrived wearing saffron robes and dressed as a priest. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Samajwadi Party and several MPs from the INDIA bloc joined him in this symbolic protest. In a dramatic manner, the Opposition tried to hold the government accountable by enacting a scene of misappropriation of donation money.
As part of the protest, a symbolic skit in the form of a street play was staged. MPs playing the role of devotees kept offering money into a donation box, one after another. At the same time, Pappu Yadav, acting as the priest, pretended to secretly pocket the money. Immediately, an SP MP, playing the role of a devotee, objected to the act and raised protest.
Priyanka Gandhi, Awadhesh Prasad, Dharmendra Yadav, Mahua Moitra and many other Opposition MPs were present at the protest. During this, they also displayed banners with various slogans and about Amit Shah’s absence from Parliament.
After the protest, Pappu Yadav told the media, “Ram Ram Japiyo re, Sabko Mal Hajpiyo re.” [Chant Ram Ram, and pocket everything]
Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav said, “We want a discussion in Parliament on the allegations that receipts were not given for donations offered by devotees in Ayodhya and that CCTV footage was deleted.” According to him, the purpose of the protest was to draw Parliament’s attention to the allegations raised.
The Opposition MPs gathered in front of Makar Dwar also raised slogans like “Amit Shah Resign”, “Amit Shah Come To The House” and “Donation Thieves, Vacate The Seat”.
Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha Secretariat has not taken the incident lightly. Parliamentary sources said that activities like changing attire or staging dramatic protests in the Parliament complex will not be allowed in the future. The Lok Sabha Speaker also expressed displeasure over the incident.