Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 29 Aug: The Scheduled Caste (SC) wing of Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress (UKPCC), under the joint leadership of state president Madan Lal and Metropolitan Congress Committee president Jasvinder Singh Gogi, staged a protest outside the residence of BJP state president Mahendra Bhatt in Yamuna Colony here today. The demonstration was organised in opposition to Bhatt’s alleged statement supporting the alleged ‘purification yajna’ conducted on 8 August at the Ramleela Ground in Haldwani following Congress’s massive public meeting addressed by national president Mallikarjun Kharge.
Madan Lal said that after Kharge’s rally, certain elements performed a so‑called purification ritual at the venue, which the Congress party had condemned as being against social harmony, democratic values and the spirit of the Constitution. He stated that while differences in political ideology are natural in democracy, the act of conducting a purification ritual after a political gathering reflects a divisive mindset. He expressed regret that the BJP state president had endorsed such a practice, compelling the Scheduled Caste wing to register its protest.
He added that Congress believes in the principles of the Constitution, democracy and social equality, and while disagreement with political thought is acceptable, branding a party or its leaders as impure and purifying the venue of their programme promotes social division. He demanded that Bhatt ought to clarify his position before the people of the state. He also claimed that that Congress is committed to maintaining fraternity and unity among all the sections of society and urged BJP to confine political opposition to the political sphere rather than encouraging hatred and division.
On the occasion, Jasvinder Singh Gogi said that Congress would not tolerate the humiliation of Dalits and alleged that atrocities against them had increased since the BJP came to power. He affirmed that Congress would never accept such injustice.
Among those present at the protest were Pradesh Mahila Congress president Jyoti Rautela, Abhinav Thapar, Jagdish Dhiman, CP Singh, Mahendra Singh Negi ‘Guruji’, Neeraj Tyagi, Karan Ghat, Adarsh Sood, Gagan Saxena, Ravindra Thakur, Sunil Pradhan, Poonam Kandari, Nitish Rajoria, Sagar Singh, Amit Talwar, Rajkumar Singh, Sunil Jaiswal, Pia Thapa, Harjeet Singh, Anil Bansal, Sanjay Gautam, Ashok Kumar, Lalit Bhadri, Virendra Panwar, Mukim Ahmad Bhura, Deepak Madhwal, Shahid Ahmad, Jamal, Yaqoob Siddiqui and Abhishek Pasi.
