Kharge takes dig at Congress leaders over muted response to ‘shuddhikaran’ row
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday, August 20, has expressed disappointment over the muted response from some senior party colleagues to the alleged ‘shuddhikaran’ (purification) of a venue in
Uttarakhand where he had addressed a rally last week. He called on party leaders to take a more forceful stand against caste discrimination and on social justice issues, sources said.
Kharge raised the issue at the Congress Working Committee meeting on Wednesday, while also praising the party's Uttarakhand unit for taking up the controversy strongly and targeting the BJP-RSS over the incident.
In an apparent dig at some senior leaders who had not spoken out forcefully in his support, Kharge remarked that those who “write well and look good” had not raised their voice strongly on the issue, the sources said.
He urged Congress leaders to fight caste-based discrimination with all their might and adopt a more aggressive approach on issues concerning social justice.
The controversy centres on an alleged purification ceremony held at Ramlila Maidan in Haldwani, where Kharge had addressed a gathering on August 8. Uttarakhand Congress chief Ganesh Godiyal has alleged that the
‘Shri Ram Sena’, which conducted the ritual, was associated with the BJP. The BJP has strongly denied the charge.
The issue was also raised publicly by Kharge, who accused the BJP of being “anti-religion” and questioned what he described as its selective interpretation of religious values.
Addressing a public meeting in South Goa, Kharge said he had spoken at the Uttarakhand venue before a purification ceremony was carried out there two days later.
“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 at the building,” he said.
“Does your religion teach this? Do your people teach you? Do your gurus teach you to do this?” he asked, arguing that religion should not be reduced to such practices.
Kharge also questioned the BJP's claims of patriotism and challenged its leaders to identify party members who had participated in India's freedom struggle.
Briefing reporters after the CWC meeting, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said the party's top decision-making body had strongly condemned the purification of the Haldwani venue.
Describing the incident as “totally unacceptable”, Venugopal questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence and said the CWC had demanded an apology from him.
He asserted that those behind the ceremony belonged to the BJP-RSS ecosystem, while emphasising that Kharge was not a leader of any particular caste but the leader of the masses and president of the Indian National Congress.
Venugopal's remarks came as Kharge sought a stronger and more unified response from Congress leaders on caste discrimination and social justice, with the Uttarakhand episode becoming a fresh point of confrontation between the Congress and BJP.
(With inputs from PTI)
