Donation Boxes Inside Parliament! Dramatic Opposition Protest Targets Centre Over Ram Temple Row

The INDIA bloc on Monday intensified its attack on the Centre by staging a symbolic protest inside the Parliament House complex, raising questions over the alleged theft of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and demanding accountability over the police action against students who participated in protests over the NEET paper leak issue.

Several Opposition MPs, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Dimple Yadav, Dharmendra Yadav, Mahua Moitra, Mahua Maji, and N.K. Premachandran, gathered near Makar Dwar carrying donation boxes as part of the demonstration. Some MPs placed cash into the boxes, saying the act symbolised donations made by devotees and the alleged misappropriation of temple funds.

The protest was accompanied by slogans targeting the government, including demands that Union Home Minister Amit Shah address Parliament over both the Ram Temple donation controversy and the police action against student protesters. The MPs also displayed a large banner questioning Shah's absence from Parliament during discussions on the issues.

The demonstration comes amid the Opposition's sustained campaign to corner the government over the two controversies. The INDIA bloc has alleged that the Centre has failed to respond adequately to claims surrounding the alleged disappearance of donations from the Ram Temple while also remaining silent on what it describes as excessive police action against peaceful student protesters.

Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal said the Opposition would continue raising the issues both inside and outside Parliament until the government responded. In a post on X, he accused the Centre of maintaining silence on the Ram Temple donation allegations and the treatment of students during recent protests.

The protest followed a similar demonstration held last week in which Opposition MPs staged a symbolic skit involving donation boxes. That protest drew sharp criticism from the BJP and several Hindu organisations, which described it as an insult to Sanatan Dharma.

Ahead of Monday's protest, floor leaders of INDIA bloc parties met in the chamber of Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge to finalise their strategy for the week, signalling that the Opposition intends to keep both issues at the centre of parliamentary debate.