BJP accuses Congress of lying over 'shuddhikaran' at Haldwani rally venue

The BJP on Saturday accused the Congress of lying after Rahul Gandhi hit out at the BJP-RSS over a "purification" ceremony carried out at the venue of a rally addressed by the Congress chief in Uttarakhand's Haldwani earlier this month, asserting that the Modi government has given the utmost respect to Dalits.

The remarks came after Gandhi slammed the BJP-RSS on Saturday, calling the incident a "crime", and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi order the registration of an FIR in the matter.

Addressing a press conference here, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha said the incident showed the BJP-RSS mindset that they do not want Dalits to progress, live with dignity and be successful.

The alleged "shuddhikaran" (purification) ceremony took place at the Ramlila Maidan in Haldwani, where Kharge addressed a gathering on August 8.

The Congress chief had raised the issue in the Rajya Sabha earlier this month.

Uttarakhand Congress chief Ganesh Godiyal has alleged that the Shri Ram Sena had performed the purification ceremony and that it was associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a charge vehemently denied by the ruling party.

Speaking to reporters in Patna, senior BJP leader and MP Ravi Shankar Prasad alleged that the Congress and Kharge are "adept at lying".

"They are adept at lying. Whether it is the government led by Narendra Modi or the (Uttar Pradesh) government led by Yogi Adityanath, they have given the utmost respect to Dalits and provided constitutional safeguards for reservation.

"Today, there are new development schemes for Dalits and they are making progress in startups. Khargeji is lying," Prasad said.

BJP general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh slammed Gandhi for his remarks, saying the Congress leader may get some likes on social media but not public endorsement for his claims.

"Every citizen of Haldwani knows that rituals after Congress rally were because of various slogans that were raised during the meeting. The group that did the rituals also consisted of a few Dalits," Santhosh said in a post on X.

"It was a Ramlila ground. Rahul Gandhi, you may get some likes but not public endorsement," he added.