'Discrimination flows through RSS-BJP': Pawan Khera slams BJP over alleged Haldwani 'shuddhikaran'

New Delhi [India], August 27 : Congress leader Pawan Khera on Thursday criticised the BJP over the alleged 'shuddhikaran' (purification) ceremony conducted in Haldwani after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's rally, alleging that the incident reflected discrimination against Dalits.
Khera, sharing a video of Uttarakhand BJP President Mahendra Bhatt's remarks on social media platform X, said that BJP national president JP Nadda's description of the incident as "unfortunate" was not enough and alleged that the practice showed the persistence of caste-based discrimination.
On X, he wrote, "It does not matter that Nadda Ji described the shuddhikaran in Haldwani after Kharge Ji's rally as "unfortunate." The truth is that discrimination flows through the veins of the RSS-BJP like blood. Now, Uttarakhand BJP President Mahendra Bhatt has justified the shuddhikaran. In the 21st century, Dalits are still subjected to such dehumanising practices. That itself is a tragedy. But if this can happen to the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and one of the tallest Dalit leaders in the country elucidates how far worse the everyday reality must be for ordinary Dalits."
He further questioned whether the BJP would take action against Bhatt over his remarks and alleged that the party's statements on social harmony and respect for Dalits were merely political.
"Now that its own state president has openly defended untouchability, will the party act against him? Will Modi remove him? If not, then Modi's grand appeals of unity and respect for Dalits are nothing but another political performance," he added.
The Congress leader's remarks came after Mahendra Bhatt defended the purification ceremony, stating that it was not targeted at any particular person or community and was related to the alleged situation at the venue of Kharge's rally.
In a video shared by Khera, Bhatt said, "The opposition has no issues or real topics to raise. They don't have any program or agenda. They only bring up matters that degrade and pollute society. Just imagine, Kharge ji's (Mallikarjun Kharge) rally takes place in Haldwani at the Ramlila Maidan. Dirt was spread there, and slogans were raised that are completely inappropriate for such a place. If a 'purification' is done because of the dirt spread there, it is not targeted at any specific person belonging to a Scheduled Caste. I can say that Congress members are only mocking their own leader. In Uttarakhand, the kind of acts that took place that day in Devbhoomi should never have happened."
The controversy erupted after allegations surfaced that a "shuddhikaran" (purification) ritual was performed at the Ramlila Maidan in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, following Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's address at a party rally there, with Congress leaders alleging that the act was aimed at the senior Dalit leader.