Kharge’s purification charge a blatant lie, meant to  divide society: Rekha Arya

PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun

Reacting to the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s allegation in the Parliament that some BJP-connected men had performed purification rituals at the stage from which he had addressed the people in Halwani, the Cabinet minister and senior BJP leader Rekha Arya said that  the allegation was a  blatant lie, motivated by divisive politics. “He has attempted to malign the image of Devbhoomi in the Parliament by referring to the Haldwani incident. He knows the truth: this whole conspiracy was hatched to divert attention from his own flop rally, the anarchy reigning in the State Congress and the embarrassment caused by slogans raised against a particular religion,” she said.

Defending her party visavis the political row sparked by Kharge’s statement, she said that neither the BJP nor the state government has anything to do with the so-called religious programme organised by an organisation. “The organisation itself clarified the purpose of its programme to the media at the time. Many of the participants were from the Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes. Despite this, the state Congress leaders, at the behest of their high command, are spreading lies, rumours and confusion regarding this matter, pursuing a policy of division in the Sanatan community. They are resorting to cheap caste-based politics to cover their abject failure to carry the people with them,” she said.

Taking a swipe at the state Congress leaders, Arya said that Kharge might have been misinformed by them. “I apprehend this, but if it is not so, the matter is even more unfortunate. It reveals that Kharge himself is indulging in such divisive propaganda,” she said.