Politics
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Kharge calls Haldwani venue ritual caste humiliation
NDTV··14 Aug
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said a purification havan at Haldwani's Ramlila Ground after his August 8 rally was against Hindu religion and treated him as untouchable. Shri Ram Sena members held the ritual on August 10. Kharge, who is Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, asked what need there was for a havan on a public meeting ground.
Prism
What It Means For You
- If you follow Kharge's remarks in the Rajya Sabha, he has now placed the Haldwani havan in the same frame as caste humiliation of a Dalit Leader of the Opposition.
- Haldwani residents can note both Congress and BJP treat Ramlila Ground as a shared public venue, while organisers call it a religious site.
- Anyone watching party lines can see the BJP denying organisational links even as a state minister answers the Congress charge.
What's Happening
- Kharge addressed a Congress rally at Haldwani's Ramlila Maidan on August 8.
- On August 10 members of Shri Ram Sena Dharmarth Seva Nyas Sangathan performed a shuddhikaran havan at the same venue.
- Kharge said the act divided castes; BJP leaders said slogans at the rally, not the Congress president's identity, prompted local anger.
Why a Municipal Ground Became a Caste Dispute
- Girish Chandra Pandey of the organising group said some slogans at the rally sounded like Islamic slogans and that the ground should not be given to political parties.
- Godiyal questioned Nainital SSP T C Manjunath for not acting against the ritual after police had restrained Congress workers during the rally.
- Kharge raised the episode in the Rajya Sabha, saying he was treated as an untouchable after speaking at a ground used by all parties.
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