E-Paper
SC/ST Congress leaders to approach President to intervene in ‘purification' row
The row flared after a purification ritual was conducted at Haldwani following Congress party chief Mallikarjun Kharge's address.
Prefer HTon Google
Congress lawmakers from the scheduled caste and scheduled tribes (SC/ST) communities have decided to hand over a memorandum to President Droupadi Murmu, seeking her intervention in the “purification” incident in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani following a rally addressed by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, people aware of the matter said on Monday.
In total, 32 SC and ST MPs of the party held a meeting at the Congress’s headquarters to form a joint strategy on the issue.
Next steps by the Congress
Congress’s Lok Sabha MP from Telangana’s NagarKurnool, Mallu Ravi said, “We have sought time from President Murmu to submit a memorandum regarding the purification incident that has taken place after Kharge ji addressed a meeting. We will request her intervention in this matter. We want her to instruct the government to act of the issue that is illegal.”
Also Read I Haldwani Purification Row: Congress protests in Jalandhar over FIR against Rahul
Chaired by Congress leader K Raju, the meeting also decided to launch political protests against the Haldwani incident.
Last week, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi order an FIR against those involved in the “shuddikaran” (purification) of the Ramlila ground at Haldwani after Kharge, a Dalit, addressed a public meeting.
“Our demand is an FIR should be lodged at the earliest against those who performed Shuddikaran. The Prime Minister said he belongs to all castes. His party chief in Uttarakhand claimed Shuddikaran was the right thing to do. We want the PM to give order to file an FIR under the SC/ST act. This show the BJP and RSS’ mindset. They don’t want a Dalit to become prosperous and live respectfully. We are not asking for anything impossible. According to the Constitution this is a crime. We are seeking justice for the Congress president. We are not asking anything more. It is a duty of the state government and the national government to ensure that Kharge ji gets justice in Uttarakhand,” the Congress leader had said.
