Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 1 Sep: Cabinet Minister Khajan Das, senior BJP leader Banshidhar Bhagat and Nainital MLA Sarita Arya today issued strong statements against Congress and Rahul Gandhi, accusing them of creating disorder in government offices and attempting to exploit Dalit issues for political gain. They alleged that the party, having lost the public trust, is now resorting to agitation and chaos to remain relevant.
It may be highlighted that in recent days, Scheduled Caste leaders within the BJP have also begun issuing counterstatements to challenge Congress’s narrative that the ruling party is anti-Dalit. The BJP maintains that Congress is politicising sensitive social matters and ignoring the safety of Dalit youths who felt threatened after Rahul Gandhi’s remarks.
Khajan Das said Congress is hungry for power but lacked public support, and therefore had chosen the path of pressure, threats and disorder. He criticised the demonstrations at SSP offices in Dehradun and Haldwani, saying they revealed the party’s true mindset. He asked whether Congress believes in democracy or in running politics by intimidating government institutions with crowds, adding that disrupting official functioning and challenging law and order is not the mark of a responsible political party but of frustration at being out of power.
Minister Das asserted that the law would take its course against those spreading disorder, and that the people of Uttarakhand stood firmly with development, stability and good governance under Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. He said the public would continue to reject Congress’s negative and chaotic politics.
Banshidhar Bhagat accused Congress of being blinded by political greed and resorting to falsehoods. He said the party is attempting to cover up its failures by spreading lies about Dalit honour, even dragging its national president into the narrative in Parliament. He pointed out that during the controversial Haldwani rally, Congress leaders had tried to portray ritual firewood as snakes, ignoring that many Dalit devotees are part of the ceremony that the Congress is seeking to target. He said Rahul Gandhi’s attempt to brand such rituals as anti-Dalit was an insult to Devbhoomi and its traditions, and that courageous Dalit youths had already challenged his falsehoods. He also reiterated that BJP has no links whatsoever to the purification incident.
Sarita Arya described the Congress protests as mere “nautanki,” saying the party’s state president had failed to draw crowds in Haldwani and resorted to unruly behaviour at the SSP office. She alleged that Rahul Gandhi is engaged in baseless politics across the country and that his statements had already led Dalit youths to file complaints against him. She said despite this, Congress leaders have continued to use the language of threats through their workers, which was unacceptable in a civil society.
The BJP leaders argue that Congress is attempting to divert attention from its own failures and appeasement politics by creating divisions in society.
