New Delhi, 31 July—In an innovative move, Independent MP Rajesh Ranjan today presented a skit on Parliament’s premises which sought to hit hard the ruling RSS-BJP ecosystem for alleged theft of donations and offerings at Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Ranjan, better known as Pappu Yadav, came to Parliament in a monk’s attire and enacted a drama in which he tried to flee with a donation box, but was caught in time. Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, also made a cameo and deposited cash in the donation box.
Humour became Yadav’s main weapon while his enactment amused those present and the video of the act going viral.
Yadav’s saffron attire did not go unnoticed inside the Lok Sabha and Speaker Om Birla, without naming the Purnea MP, issued a warning to “members who wear different costumes to the House”.
Outside the House, Yadav was seen sitting on the ground with a donation box. While he played the lead role — ostensibly of the chief priest — Samajwadi Party MPs Ruchi Veera (Moradabad) and Awadhesh Prasad (Ayodhya) were also involved in the skit. Samajwadi Party is spearheading the Opposition campaign on the donation theft, which is likely to be a key talking point in the Uttar Pradesh poll campaign next year.
Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav said the skit was Pappu Yadav’s idea, but added that the Opposition is united on demanding a discussion on the donation theft at Ram Temple, seen as a flagship project of the BJP. “I have given an adjournment notice on the issue every day since the Parliament has been in session; we want the issue to be discussed on the floor of the House, but it is always conveyed that the government is not ready. It is one of the most crucial issues that needs to be addressed,” he said.
Congress MPs mostly looked on from behind a banner questioning why Union Home Minister Amit Shah was missing from Parliament. Over the past couple of days, the main Opposition party has tried to corner the Centre on the alleged excesses by security personnel during the crackdown on students protesting against paper leaks in Delhi and demanded a response from Shah.
Among the Congress MPs seen watching the skit were Rahul Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. At one point, Rahul Gandhi played a cameo in the skit and donated cash into Yadav’s box. In the skit, Yadav is seen taking cash from the donation box and stuffing it into his own pocket. Opposition MPs are seen playacting a public thrashing after they discover the theft. Yadav stages an escape attempt, but is caught in time.
The donation theft at Ram Temple in Ayodhya has left the ruling BJP red-faced the year before Uttar Pradesh, one of the country’s most politically significant states, goes to the polls. The Opposition, emboldened after the students’ protest against paper leaks forced Dharmendra Pradhan to resign as the Union Education Minister, is now looking to play up the issue of donation theft to corner the ruling BJP.
Veteran Journalist and Political Commentator
