New Delhi:
Bihar’s Independent MP Pappu Yadav. who suffered a shoe attack at a press conference in Delhi today, told NDTV that the man was also carrying a knife which has been handed to the police.
“I had been receiving threats from several sadhus and sants,” he told NDTV in an exclusive interview.
“One sant made a public statement saying that if my parliamentary membership was not revoked, I should be burnt alive. Another announced a reward of Rs 51 lakh for anyone who kills me,” he said.
The man who attacked Yadav is Sumit, a resident from UP’s Bulandshahr. Sources said he harbored resentment against Pappu Yadav over a perceived insult to sadhus.
Yadav had donned saffron robes during a protest in parliament earlier this week, which had incensed many sadhus and right wing supporters. The protest had taken the form of a skit on the alleged misappropriation of donations made to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
“I have not committed any crime,” Yadav told NDTV today. “I actually tried to protect the person who had come to attack me,” he added.
He said they will continue to demand a discussion on the offerings theft from Ayodhya Ram Mandir in parliament. “Our leaders – Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and Akhilesh Yadav – will decide our stance on the Ram Mandir issue,” he added.
The Controversial Opposition Protest
On Friday, the Opposition MPs had held a skit near parliament’s Makar Dwar, where Pappu Yadav had played a temple staff, appearing in saffron robes with a tilak on his forehead, portraying a priest. He carried donation boxes and an image of Lord Ram.
Opposition MPs who played the part of devotees, placed currency notes in the donation boxes. Yadav was then seen pocketing the money.
A complaint has been filed a group headed by the BJP’s Bansuri Swaraj, who alleged that the use of saffron robes and tilak “for political theatre” has caused “widespread hurt and outrage among members of the Hindu community”.
The delegation has asked the Delhi Police to preserve CCTV footage from the Parliament complex, original video recordings, television coverage, photographs, social media posts and other electronic material linked to the protest.
