Varanasi Police on Saturday registered an FIR against Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and two other Members of Parliament over allegations of insulting Sanatan Dharma and hurting religious sentiments during an opposition protest held in Parliament. Police took action after receiving a formal complaint from a group of seers, an official confirmed.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Kashi Zone, Gaurav Banswal said the case was registered at Kotwali police station in Varanasi. He said the FIR followed a complaint submitted by several seers. The complainants alleged that Lok Sabha MPs Rahul Gandhi, Rajesh Ranjan, popularly known as Pappu Yadav, and Awadhesh Prasad insulted Sanatan Dharma during the protest inside Parliament.

Rajesh Ranjan, widely known as Pappu Yadav, represents the Purnia constituency in Bihar as an Independent MP. Awadhesh Prasad is a Samajwadi Party MP from the Faizabad constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Both leaders have been named in the FIR along with Rahul Gandhi.

The complaint pertained to the events that took place during an opposition protest in Parliament on Friday. The protest was organised by MPs of the INDI bloc. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former Congress president Rahul Gandhi took part in the demonstration along with several other opposition leaders.

The opposition leaders staged a protest to raise questions over the alleged theft of donations collected at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. They also criticised the police action against student protesters who attempted to march towards Parliament on July 20. The demonstration aimed to highlight both issues inside the Parliament complex.

As part of the protest, the opposition MPs performed a symbolic skit. They placed donation boxes near the stairs leading to the Makar Dwar of Parliament. The leaders then dropped money into the boxes to represent temple donations. During the act, Pappu Yadav appeared dressed in saffron robes and sat near the donation boxes. As other MPs placed money into the boxes, he acted out a scene by slipping the money into his pockets. The opposition used the performance to draw attention to its allegations regarding the handling of temple donations.

The protest also targeted Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The INDI bloc MPs demanded his resignation and questioned why he was absent from the proceedings of the House. During the demonstration, they raised slogans against the Home Minister and called for his presence in Parliament.

The MPs shouted, "Amit Shah istifa do", "Amit Shah sadan mein aao" and "Chadhawa chor, gaddi chor". These slogans formed a major part of the protest and reflected the opposition's criticism of the government.

Several senior opposition leaders joined the demonstration. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra participated in the protest along with Samajwadi Party MPs Awadhesh Prasad and Dharmendra Yadav. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MP Mahua Maji also joined the gathering. The leaders stood behind a large banner carrying the message, "Amit Shah sadan se gayab kyun?"

Following the protest, a group of seers approached Kotwali police station in Varanasi and filed a complaint against the three MPs. They alleged that the actions carried out during the demonstration insulted Bhagwan Ram and Sanatan Dharma. They also claimed that the protest hurt the religious sentiments of followers of the faith.

Seer Jagatguru Balak Das strongly criticised the protest and objected to the role played by Pappu Yadav during the skit. Referring to the events inside Parliament, he said, "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 also said the manner in which Pappu Yadav insulted Bhagwan Ram and Sanatan Dharma inside the House was unforgivable. The seers argued that the protest crossed acceptable limits and demanded legal action against the MPs involved.

After examining the complaint, Varanasi Police registered an FIR against Rahul Gandhi, Pappu Yadav and Awadhesh Prasad. Deputy Commissioner of Police Gaurav Banswal confirmed that police acted on the complaint submitted by the seers. The case will now move forward under the legal process as investigators examine the allegations made in the complaint.

The FIR has added a new legal dimension to the political controversy surrounding Friday's Parliament protest.