newspop
New Delhi : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, in a press conference held at the AICC headquarters, attacked the BJP and the RSS over the alleged ‘cleansing’ after Mallikarjun Kharge’s Haldwani event. Rahul Gandhi alleged that cleaning the venue after a Dalit leader’s event is another name for untouchability and this act sends a message of discrimination against Dalits in the society.
In this press conference held on Saturday, Rahul Gandhi sought a reply from the government on the issue of cleaning the venue of Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge. He said, “Khargeji has dedicated his entire life to the service of the country and the Constitution. When he returned from a public meeting at the Ramlila Maidan in Haldwani, on August 10, the BJP and RSS people got the place ‘purified’.”
Rahul Gandhi further added that this ‘purification’ is nothing but another name for untouchability. This is an attempt to send a message to the society that touching or being with a Dalit is impure. According to our Constitution, untouchability is completely illegal, and this act is a serious criminal activity under the SC-ST Act.
Rahul Gandhi said that Khargeji had made it clear in Parliament while expressing his pain that he is not pleading with anyone, he has full power to struggle. But in a democracy, openly practicing untouchability in this way is tantamount to flouting the Constitution. However, BJP leaders are justifying this criminal purge.
He said, “Our demand is clear, the Prime Minister of the country and the Uttarakhand government should immediately intervene in this matter. Whoever has done this illegal purge, an FIR should be lodged against them immediately under the SC-ST Act and they should be given strict punishment. Our fight is not against any person, but against the protection of the Constitution and this anti-people ideology. It is our constitutional duty to provide justice to Congress President Mallikarjun Khargeji and every Dalit citizen of the country, and this justice will be met at any cost.”
Report – Abhijit Tushar Bhatt (Political Editor)
