Opposition MPs Protest Over Ram Temple Donation Row, Police Action Against Students

New Delhi, Aug 3: Opposition MPs, including Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, staged a protest in the Parliament complex on Monday over the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya and “police excesses” against student protesters.

The MPs gathered near Makar Dwar and raised slogans including “chanda chor, gaddi chor” and “Amit Shah sadan mein aao”. They also placed donation boxes at the protest site to symbolise the alleged theft of offerings at the Ram temple, with some MPs putting cash into the boxes.

Besides Priyanka Gandhi, the protest was attended by Samajwadi Party’s Dimple Yadav and Dharmendra Yadav, TMC’s Mahua Moitra, JMM’s Mahua Maji and RSP’s N K Premchandran, among others.

The MPs stood behind a large banner carrying the message, “Why Amit Shah absent from Parliament”, apparently referring to allegations surrounding directions to security personnel to use lethal force against student protesters during the recent agitation over the NEET paper leak.

The INDIA bloc has vowed to corner the government in Parliament over the alleged donation theft and what it described as the use of “brutal force” against students during protests last week.

On Friday, INDIA bloc MPs had staged a skit during their protest, with Rahul Gandhi putting money into donation boxes while Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, dressed in saffron attire, took money out to symbolise the alleged theft.

The protest drew criticism from the BJP and Hindu organisations, which accused the opposition of insulting Sanatan dharma.

Earlier, INDIA bloc floor leaders met in Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge’s chamber to finalise their strategy for the week. (Agencies)