Opposition MPs protest in Parliament over Ayodhya donation theft allegations

Opposition MPs, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, protested in the Parliament House complex over allegations of theft of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya and alleged police excesses against student protesters, demanding accountability from Union Home Minister Amit Shah

New Delhi: Opposition MPs, including Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, protested in the Parliament House complex on Monday against the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya and alleged police excesses against student protesters.

The MPs protested in front of Makar Dwar in the Parliament House complex, raising slogans such as “chhanda chor, gaddi chor” and “Amit Shah sadan mein aao”.

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The MPs also placed donation boxes at the protest site to symbolise the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple and lined up around them while raising slogans against the government. Some MPs also put cash into the boxes to symbolise the donations made and the alleged “theft” that took place later.

Besides Priyanka Gandhi, SP’s Dimple Yadav and Dharmendra Yadav, TMC’s Mahua Moitra, JMM’s Mahua Maji and RSP’s NK Premachandran, among others, participated in the protest.

The protesting MPs stood behind a large banner that read, “Why Amit Shah absent from Parliament”.

They raised slogans against Shah while apparently referring to the alleged directions to security personnel to use force against student protesters during the recent agitation over the NEET paper leak.

Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal said, “As we enter the third week of this Parliament session, we still wait for Amit Shah to break his cowardly silence and give an answer to Parliament on the brutal assault on peaceful protesters.”

The government has also maintained radio silence on the “chanda chori” at the Ram Temple to shield the high and mighty involved, he said in a post on X.

“Our protests outside Parliament, and on the floor of both Houses, will continue until the government is held accountable,” Venugopal said.

The INDIA bloc has vowed to corner the government on the issues of the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple and the use of “brutal force” against students during their protests last week.

On Friday, INDIA bloc MPs staged a skit during their protest in the Parliament House complex.

The MPs, including Rahul Gandhi, put money into donation boxes, while Rajesh Ranjan, alias Pappu Yadav, dressed in a saffron outfit, slipped money into his pockets to symbolise the alleged theft at the Ram temple.

The protest has sparked a row, with the BJP and Hindu outfits calling it an insult to Sanatan Dharma.

Earlier in the day, the floor leaders of INDIA bloc parties met in the chamber of Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge in the Parliament complex to finalise the opposition’s strategy for the week.