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'Congress misleading Dalit community': BJP rejects Rahul's claim of Kharge's insult in Haldwani purification ritual
Uttarakhand minister Khajan Das said BJP had no connection with the incident and accused the Congress of “attempting to mislead” the Dalit community.
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The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday dismissed Congress's claims of a “purification” ritual being held at Ramlila Ground in Uttarakhand's Haldwani after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a public meeting there.
Uttarakhand minister and BJP leader Khajan Das said the party had no connection with the incident and accused the Congress of “attempting to mislead” the Dalit community, ANI news agency reported.
The controversy erupted after Kharge addressed a Congress rally at Ramlila Maidan in Haldwani on August 8. Members of a right-wing group later reportedly conducted a purification ritual at the ground, which was criticised by the leaders of Congress party.
Rahul asks PM to order FIR over purification row
Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi earlier today demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi order an FIR to be filed against those involved in the “shuddhikaran” or purification of the Ramlila ground. Rahul further played a purported video showing the BJP’s Uttarakhand chief supporting shuddhikaran, and sought “justice” for the Congress president.
Kharge had, at the Congress Working Committee meeting on August 19, raised the issue of the purification ritual and lamented that some party leaders didn’t take it up, according to an earlier HT report.
‘BJP has nothing to do with it…’: What Uttarakhand minister said
Uttarakhand minister Das said there was no intention to insult Kharge, while adding that the BJP completely disassociated itself from the incident. “I wish to state that there was no such intention; the Bharatiya Janata Party dissociates itself from this entirely. The BJP has nothing to do with it,” ANI cited Das saying.
He further alleged that the Congress was “spreading rumours and attempting to mislead the Dalit community”. The Uttarakhand minister further stated that if an organisation had conducted a “havan” or purification ritual at the Ramlila Ground, “that is their own affair.”
“However, spreading such misinformation is not right,” Das said.
‘Shows the BJP and RSS’ mindset’: Rahul
While demanding for an FIR to be filed against those who had conducted the ritual, Rahul claimed that the BJP's Uttarakhand unit chief had said that “shuddhikaran was the right thing to do.” He said this was an “illegal act.”
“This shows the BJP and RSS’ mindset. They don’t want a Dalit to become prosperous and live respectfully,” Rahul said, while urging PM Modi to order an FIR under the SC/ST act. The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act came into force in 1995 to prevent atrocities and violence against the vulnerable sections. It has been amended to impose stricter punishment.
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“We are not asking for anything impossible. According to the Constitution this is a crime. We are seeking justice for the Congress president,” the Lok Sabha LoP asserted. Rahul also raised a larger question of atrocities and violence faced by Dalits in India, and pointed to how Dalit students are made to clean toilets in schools and barred from drinking water from the village well or in tea shops.
He alleged that a shuddhikaran had followed after Union minister Jitin Ram Majhi visited a temple. “This is done by the BJP and RSS and this is a crime according to the Constitution. Shuddhikaran is another name for untouchability. Which is illegal but BJP practises it,” Rahul alleged.
(With inputs from Saubhadra Chatterji)
