'Hurt' Mallikarjun Kharge Slams Party Leaders' Silence On 'Purification' Row

A "hurt" Mallikarjun Kharge made a complaint to senior Congress leaders at the party's working committee meet in the Capital on Wednesday.

The Congress president told the party leaders present at the meet that he was "hurt" that many of the CWC members did not openly come out in support of him on the 'purification' issue by condemning it, sources told NDTV.

Kharge was referring to the incident in Uttarakhand's Haldwani, where certain Hindutva organisations "purified" the venue following his rally.

While Kharge did not name any particular leaders, his body language, according to sources, suggested that he was upset by the lack of support from some senior leaders over the issue.

Congress Working Committee meeting on Wednesday

Mallikarjun Kharge addressed the "Vijay Shankhnaad" rally at Haldwani's Ramlila Maidan on August 8. Two days later, on August 10, a right-wing group, 'Shri Ram Sena', performed a 'shuddhikaran' (purification) havan at the rally venue.

Briefing the media later on the deliberations in the CWC, Venugopal spoke about the 'purification' row, arguing that the incident was "unacceptable" and "condemnable" and alleged that it reflected the mindset of the BJP.

The Congress had alleged that those who performed the "purification" ritual had links to the BJP and RSS, claiming that it exposed their "anti-Dalit mindset".

The Shri Ram Sena performed a purification havan at M Kharge's rally venue in Uttarakhand

The BJP, on the other hand, had distanced itself from the act of the right-wing organisation and had condemned the "purification ritual".

The Congress chief also raised the issue in Parliament on Thursday, the last day of the Monsoon Session.

"I do not want to turn this into a political issue. I have never told anyone that I am Dalit - protect me - nor have I begged in front of anyone. I have the strength to fight, and I do fight. But in Haldwani, the purification of the stage made me feel the sting of untouchability and humiliated me. My demand is that a case should be registered under the Untouchability Act against those who purified the stage in Haldwani, and they should be arrested and sent to jail," he said in Parliament.

Responding to Kharge in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister JP Nadda stated that the incident was unfortunate, and clarified that BJP members were not involved. He also assured that an inquiry would be conducted.