PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun
The Congress leaders have strongly reacted to the alleged ‘purification’ of the stage from which the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had addressed a rally in Haldwani by some Bharatiya Janata Party workers. The leaders said that the incident reflects anti-Dalit mindset of the ruling BJP.
The in-charge of Uttarakhand Congress, Kumari Selja said that the State government has taken no action on the heinous incident. She demanded that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami should respond on the issue.
Strongly condemning the incident, the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Ganesh Godiyal said that the Dalit community of the State have witnessed the hatred the BJP has for them. He added that the Congress party will hold protest meetings in all parts of the State against this highly objectionable act of BJP.
The leader of opposition (LoP) in Vidhan Sabha Yashpal Arya said that the ‘purification’ act is the demonstration of the BJP’s narrow and discriminatory thinking, which even today hates the poor, Dalits and the oppressed. “This is an insult not just to one person but to the poor, Dalits, the exploited, the deprived and the oppressed across this country,’’ he said.
Arya averred that Kharge is not only the national president of the Congress party, but also one of the country’s most senior public leaders. Purifying the stage and venue after his public meeting is an insult to the spirit of social equality.
“In a democratic country, public spaces belong to the public and holding meetings of different political parties is a normal part of the democratic system. Attempting to “purify” a place after a political event reflects a mind-set that promotes age-old social evils like untouchability and discrimination. The Indian Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to live with equality, respect, and dignity. The fundamental spirit of the Constitution is to eliminate social discrimination and ensure equal rights for all citizens. Therefore, such symbolic acts performed publicly send a wrong message to society and undermine social harmony,’’ he said.
