Senior Congress leader and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday described the alleged ‘purification’ ritual conducted after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s rally in Haldwani as a serious incident, saying it had caused pain to the Dalit community.
“This is a serious incident. If this can happen to the Congress president, just imagine what must be happening to the Dalit community across the entire nation. Under their rule, this negligence has only increased,” Gehlot told ANI.
He said incidents of injustice, oppression and persecution had continued, adding that the episode involving Kharge had hurt Dalits, backward classes, tribals and the poor.
“Such incidents of injustice, oppression and persecution have been ongoing, but the incident that happened with Mallikarjun Kharge has caused immense pain to the entire Dalit community of the country, the backward classes, tribals, or any poor person—anyone who has sympathy for Dalits,” he said.
Gehlot also referred to Leader of the House JP Nadda’s assurance in the Rajya Sabha on the matter, saying people had expected action following his statement.
Nadda had said in the Rajya Sabha that the matter was being taken seriously and that action would be taken. Gehlot said the assurance from the Leader of the House had raised expectations, but no action had followed.
“This pain is felt by all of us, by all citizens of the country; there is intense outrage among all people, which the BJP government or the NDA government is failing to understand, but when the time comes, the people will make them understand,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee will hold a demonstration and march from Dehradun’s Parade Ground to the Chief Minister’s residence on September 7 over the Haldwani ‘purification’ row.
The controversy began after a Congress rally at Ramlila Ground in Haldwani on August 8, ahead of the 2027 Uttarakhand Assembly elections. Members of a right-wing group later conducted a shuddhikaran ritual at the venue, drawing criticism from Congress leaders.
Gehlot also commented on the controversy surrounding a book on Sonia Gandhi, alleging that publisher Penguin was “hesitating” to publish it due to pressure.
“The publisher Penguin is hesitating, making excuses. We had already said that there might be pressure from the government on them because Penguin’s parent company is ready to publish the book,” he said.
Gehlot said several major publishers had since approached the authors to publish the book and expressed confidence that it would be launched on November 10.
The memoir chronicles Sonia Gandhi’s journey from her childhood in post-war Italy and her relationship with Rajiv Gandhi to the personal losses that shaped her life and relationship with India.
In the memoir, the 79-year-old Congress veteran, who was the party’s longest-serving president, revisits her childhood in Italy, her relationship with former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi during their time at Cambridge, and the assassinations of her mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, and her husband, Rajiv Gandhi.
(With inputs from ANI)
