VARANASI: A group of seers lodged a criminal complaint against Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, MPs Pappu Yadav and Awadhesh Prasad at Kotwali police station here on Saturday, over a play they staged on the Parliament premises in Delhi to target the BJP-led NDA government on the issue of alleged donation theft at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.DCP (Kashi Zone) Gaurav Banswal, who received the complaint from the group of seers on Saturday, said that based on the complaint, a named FIR had been registered against Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, Awadhesh Prasad and Rahul Gandhi under Sections 196 (promoting enmity between different groups), 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), 302 (uttering words or making gestures with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings) and 3(5) (criminal acts committed by multiple people with a shared intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).Patalpuri Peethadhishwar Jagadguru Balak Devacharya, who filed the complaint on behalf of the seers, said the seer community was deeply hurt by what they described as the insult to Bhagwa (saffron), which is considered a sacred colour in the Sanatan tradition.“Pappu Yadav wore Bhagwa and posed as a sadhu while staging a drama on the Parliament premises to portray donation theft. Rahul Gandhi and Awadhesh Prasad made gestures of putting donations into a donation box. They used Bhagwa for a political demonstration, mocked the Sanatan tradition and Lord Ram, and insulted the faith of crores of Hindus,” Devacharya said.“It was not a natural or spontaneous reaction to any issue. It was a well-planned and coordinated attempt to mock Sanatan and Bhagwa by assigning specific roles to each participant,” he said. He added that all evidence relating to the alleged insult to religious symbols and faith was available in the public domain and should be examined to determine the role played by each Member of Parliament in the performance, which, according to him, incited religious sentiments and promoted tension and enmity.Banswal said the investigation had begun after the FIR was registered.Meanwhile, Devacharya warned that the seer community, angered by the performance on the Parliament premises, would wait for some time to allow the police and other agencies to take appropriate action. If there was any delay, the seers would launch a massive protest.
