New Delhi: Days after the BJP and Union minister J. P. Nadda distanced themselves from the ‘purification’ controversy related to Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge’s rally venue in Haldwani, Uttarakhand BJP president Mahendra Bhatt defended the ritual saying “the place was polluted with slogans”.
A ‘shuddhikaran’ (purification) ceremony was held at the Ramlila Ground in Haldwani after a rally was addressed by Kharge on 8 August that had not only created a political stir in Uttarakhand, but nationally too.
Nadda, while responding to Kharge in the Rajya Sabha, had condemned the ‘shuddhikaran’.
Bhatt, while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a Rakshabandhan event in Mussoorie, said the criticism over the ritual was being exaggerated by the opposition Congress merely for petty political gain as they don’t have any issue to raise.
Bhatt, while explaining the incident, stressed that the sanctity of a religious and cultural venue should be respected by all.
“Those who have no real issues raise matters that only damage and divide society. Kharge-ji’s rally (was) held in Haldwani. The Ramlila Ground there was defiled. Imagine at a place where there is a Ram temple, slogans were raised that should not have been raised. The place was polluted, and then it was purified,” Bhatt reasoned.
The BJP MP also accused the Congress of unnecessarily linking the controversy to Scheduled Caste politics.
“I can say that Congress members are making a mockery of their own leader; they have turned Kharge-ji into a subject of ridicule. Kharge-ji himself must surely realise that the incident which took place in Devbhoomi that day should not have happened,” he added.
Bhatt said the situation which unfolded during the rally and the slogans raised were not in keeping with the decorum of Ramlila Maidan.
The BJP state president also said that the cleanliness and purification of a religious site or an event venue should not be turned into a subject of political controversy. He also accused the Congress in Uttarakhand of raising issues that divide society.
A video of the ‘purification’ ceremony had gone viral on social media, with one of the organisers claiming that certain political slogans should not have been raised there. The ”purification’ ceremony was held at the site of the rally by members of the Shri Ram Sena a few days later.
Kharge had raised the matter in the Rajya Sabha and had demanded that those who carried out a ‘shuddhikaran’ at Haldwani’s Ramlila Ground after his rally be booked under the Untouchability Act and arrested.
Kharge had claimed that he had not referred to any particular community or religion in his speech.
Nadda, who is also the Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha, had distanced the BJP from the ceremony, pointing out that the party did not support such activities.
He had also assured Kharge that the incident would be investigated and said the BJP national president would look into the matter.
“It is a matter of great regret for all of us that your sentiments were hurt,” Nadda said.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)