BJP National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on Saturday, 1 August launched a sharp attack on Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of targeting Hindu sentiments through a street-play-style protest staged inside Parliament premises over alleged financial irregularities in Ayodhya Ram Temple donations. Poonawalla alleged that the protest, which featured Opposition leaders donning saffron attire, was not a genuine effort to raise accountability concerns but a deliberate attempt to malign those who wear saffron robes.

What Poonawalla Said on X

Taking to social media platform X, Poonawalla alleged, ‘Rahul Gandhi is a shameless Hindu hater. In their hatred for one party. They extend their hatred towards India and Hindus.’ He also shared a video in support of his claim. The BJP spokesperson argued that while the underlying issue of alleged donation theft may warrant scrutiny, using saffron attire to dramatise it unfairly implicated an entire religious community.

‘The individuals accused in the theft case, who are currently in jail, were neither sants nor people wearing saffron robes. Then why was saffron attire used during the protest? Why was it projected as though those wearing saffron are involved in theft?’ he said, according to his post on X.

The Parliament Protest: What Happened

On 31 July, Opposition MPs — including Purnia MP Pappu Yadav, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and Rahul Gandhi — staged an unusual demonstration inside Parliament over allegations of embezzlement of donations to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Pappu Yadav arrived dressed in saffron attire and carried a donation box, enacting a satirical street play. Rahul Gandhi, Kharge, Priyanka Gandhi, and other Opposition leaders made symbolic donations into the box during the demonstration.

Speaking at the protest, Yadav raised slogans and accused those responsible for allegedly misusing funds collected in the name of Lord Ram. ‘Ram Ram japiyo re, sab maal hadapiyo re. Man mein Ram, Chintan mein Ram, Kan mein Shiv, Jivan Mein Sanso Mein,’ he told reporters. The Opposition MPs also questioned the absence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah from Parliament during this period.

Poonawalla’s Broader Challenge to Gandhi

Poonawalla escalated his criticism by questioning whether Gandhi would stage a similar enactment targeting other religious communities. ‘There have been several instances of alleged financial irregularities involving Waqf Boards, mosque trusts and church trusts. Do you have the courage to dress as a Maulvi and stage a similar enactment in the Kerala Assembly?’ he asked. He further alleged that if someone were to portray terrorism using a character wearing a cap as the central figure, Gandhi would not support it, suggesting a double standard in the Congress leader’s approach.

Notably, Poonawalla also described the enactment’s sequence: ‘Rahul Gandhi gives a donation, then Pappu Yadav puts it in his pocket, and later everyone starts beating him,’ contending that the optics of the performance were deliberately constructed to associate saffron-clad individuals with wrongdoing.

Political Context and Background

The protest comes amid ongoing Opposition pressure over alleged irregularities in the management of donations received at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, which was consecrated in January 2024 in a ceremony that itself became a major political flashpoint between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress. The BJP has consistently accused the Congress of being hostile to Hindu religious institutions, while the Congress has maintained that raising accountability questions about temple finances is a legitimate governance issue, not an attack on religion. This exchange marks the latest escalation in that ongoing dispute.

Poonawalla concluded by alleging that the Congress ‘never believed in the existence of Lord Ram’ and that its recent invocations of Ram were driven purely by electoral calculations rather than genuine faith.