'Purification row': Kharge takes light-hearted dig at colleagues who failed to back him

New Delhi, Aug 20 (PTI) Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has lamented that he did not receive the support he expected from party colleagues after a 'shuddhikaran' ceremony was held at the venue of a rally addressed by him in Uttarakhand last week, and urged party leaders to take an aggressive stance on social justice issues and instances of caste-based discrimination, sources said.

During the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on Wednesday, Kharge, however, lauded the Congress' Uttarakhand unit for strongly raising the issue and cornering the BJP-RSS on it.

The sources said Kharge took a light-hearted dig at senior leaders who did not voice strong support for him, saying "jo likhte achcha hain aur dikhte achcha hain" (those who write well and look good) did not raise their voice on the issue strongly.

Kharge urged party leaders to adopt an aggressive stance on social justice issues and fight against caste-based discrimination with all their might.

Briefing reporters after the CWC meeting, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal disclosed that the CWC strongly condemned the ‘shuddhikaran’ (purification) of the venue in Haldwani, Uttarakhand.

Calling the incident totally unacceptable and questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence, Venugopal said the CWC demanded that Modi must apologise over the issue.

He asserted that the “purification” was done by people belonging to the BJP-RSS ecosystem. Kharge, Venugopal said, is not a leader of any particular caste but a leader of the masses and the president of the Indian National Congress.

Kharge had dubbed the BJP "anti-religion", citing the alleged "purification" ritual following his speech and questioned the ruling party's "selective interpretation of religious values".

Addressing a public meeting in South Goa, Kharge attacked the BJP over its claims of patriotism, challenging its leadership to identify party members who fought for India's independence.

"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.

The alleged purification took place at Ramlila Maidan where Kharge had addressed a gathering on August 8.

"Does your religion teach this? Do your people teach this? Do your gurus teach you to do this?" he charged.

Religion should not be reduced to such acts, he said, questioning the BJP over its "selective interpretation of religious values".

Uttarakhand Congress chief Ganesh Godiyal has alleged that the ‘Shri Ram Sena’ group that performed the purification ceremony was associated with the BJP, a charge vehemently denied by the saffron party. PTI