The Congress has accused Uttarakhand BJP president Mahendra Bhatt of defending a ‘shuddhikaran’ (purification) ceremony held at a Haldwani venue where party president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a rally.
The Congress questioned whether the BJP would take action against Bhatt for allegedly defending untouchability.
Bhatt reportedly said the venue had been “polluted” by slogans that were not suitable for a religious place. He made the remarks while responding to criticism over the purification ceremony held at Ramlila Maidan in Haldwani.
Congress media and publicity department head Pawan Khera shared a video of Bhatt’s remarks and accused the RSS-BJP of promoting caste discrimination.
“It does not matter that Nadda Ji described the shuddhikaran in Haldwani after Kharge Ji’s rally as ‘unfortunate’. The truth is that discrimination flows through the veins of the RSS-BJP like blood,” Khera said.
He alleged that Bhatt had now openly justified the ceremony.
“In the 21st century, Dalits are still subjected to such dehumanising practices. That itself is a tragedy,” Khera said.
He added that if such an incident could happen to Kharge, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and a prominent Dalit leader, it raised questions about the treatment of ordinary Dalits.
“Now that its own state president has openly defended untouchability, will the party act against him? Will Modi remove him?” Khera asked.
Congress Questions BJP’s Stand
Congress spokesperson and social media department head Supriya Shrinate also shared the video of Bhatt’s remarks.
“This is Uttarakhand BJP President Mahendra Bhatt. He is justifying the purification ritual that took place after Congress President Kharge ji’s rally in Haldwani,” Shrinate said.
“This is the real BJP — this is the hatred in their hearts towards Dalits. Everything else is mere lip service,” she added.
The Congress Working Committee had earlier condemned the alleged purification ceremony and questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on the issue.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh had described the incident as “totally unacceptable” and said the party had demanded an apology from the prime minister.
Kharge Had Criticised the Ritual
Kharge had also criticised the alleged ceremony and accused the BJP of being “anti-religion”, while questioning what he described as its selective interpretation of religious values.
“You (BJP) are anti-religion because when a person like me goes to Uttarakhand and gives a speech in front of lakhs of people, two days later you conduct a purification ceremony,” Kharge had said.
The alleged ‘shuddhikaran’ was held at Ramlila Maidan in Haldwani, where Kharge addressed a public gathering on August 8.
Uttarakhand Congress president Ganesh Godiyal has alleged that the Shri Ram Sena, which conducted the ceremony, was associated with the BJP. The BJP has strongly denied the allegation.
