The Varanasi police on Saturday registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Members of Parliament Pappu Yadav and Awadhesh Prasad over a play they staged on the Parliament premises in Delhi on the alleged donation theft at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

Based on a complaint from Jagadguru Balak Das, the head of Patalpuri Math and other seers, an FIR was registered in the Kolwali police station around 2 p.m. The petition alleged that deliberate and malicious acts were performed outside the Parliament House, intended to outrage religious feelings.

“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),” a senior Varanasi police officer told The Hindu.

The petition said that the seer community was deeply hurt by what they described as the insult to Bhagwa (saffron), which is considered a sacred colour in the Sanatana tradition.

In a related development, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, including Lok Sabha MP Bansuri Swaraj, submitted a petition at the Parliament Street police station in New Delhi, demanding action against Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Yadav and Mr. Prasad for staging the skit.

Mr. Yadav, dressed in a saffron outfit, performed the skit along with other Opposition MPs in front of the Makar Dwar at the Parliament complex on Friday (July 31, 2026) to protest the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya. In the skit, Mr. Gandhi appeared to put money in a box in front of Mr. Yadav, which the latter slipped into his pockets to indicate the alleged donation theft at the Ram Temple.

Uttar Pradesh Congress unit president Ajay Rai described the registration of FIR as blatant misuse of government machinery by the people linked to the BJP and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). “The embezzlement at Ram Temple is a major issue, the whole world is aware of it, the BJP-VHP want to hide their corruption, hence the FIR has been registered. I ask why no FIR has been registered against Champat Rai Bansal [former general secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra] in the Ayodhya case. On August 2, Congress workers will submit a petition to the local police for registration of FIR in the Ayodhya case against such individuals and their protectors,” said Mr. Rai.