Haldwani (Uttarakhand) [India], August 30 : Uttarakhand Assembly Leader of Opposition Yashpal Arya on Sunday accused the BJP of remaining silent over the 'shuddhikaran' (purification) havan conducted at Ramlila Maidan after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a rally at the venue.
Congress held a silent protest in Haldwani over the issue, during which Arya alleged that the state BJP president had justified the purification ritual.
Speaking to ANI during the protest, Arya said, "...On this very ground, after Mallikarjun Kharge's rally, a havan (ritual fire ceremony) and a purification ritual were performed, yet the government remained silent... the (state BJP) President even justifies this purification and 'havan'."
"In that very context, our leader Rahul Gandhi held a press conference yesterday; he spoke out against the oppression of the Dalit community and the hatred towards Dalits that exists in the BJP and RSS ideology... yet, today, the BJP government and the administration are colluding in a vile conspiracy against him, and an FIR is being registered in Haldwani... What could be more shameful than this? They are suppressing the truth and lack the courage to face it," he further said.
Further, Uttarakhand Deputy Leader of Opposition Bhuwan Kapri also criticised the BJP, alleging that the incident reflected a prejudiced mindset.

"...When Mallikarjun Kharge, the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, the National President of the Congress, and one of the country's senior-most leaders, visits, BJP members subsequently perform a 'purification' ritual. When this issue was raised in the Lok Sabha, highlighting how caste and religion have become so dominant in India that the BJP cannot shake off the deep-seated prejudice that led them to 'purify' the space after his departure, even former BJP National President and current Union Minister Nadda expressed regret," he said.
"He stated that they were also hurt by it and that such an incident should not have occurred... That is why we are observing a vow of silence today, to protest against the prejudiced mindset that the BJP's state president, Mahendra Bhatt, is actively fueling... An FIR will have to be lodged, and the administration and government will be compelled to register it," Kapri told ANI.
Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Road Transport Ajay Tamta rejected the allegations surrounding the 'shuddhikaran' (purification) ritual, saying the issue was raised without proper information.

Tamta said that as per the information he received, no purification ritual was conducted and the venue was cleaned.
He alleged that the incident was later linked to Kharge's caste identity and turned into a controversy.
"This matter came to my notice only on August 13, when the Parliament session was ongoing. Mallikarjun Kharge raised this issue that on the 8th in Uttarakhand, the national president had gone to address a Congress rally at the Ramleela ground in Haldwani. He said that after he left, a havan was performed there, and purification was done. When he said that, I was in the House at the time. According to the information I received, that was not the case. It is a Ramleela ground, and in Haldwani, political-social organisations keep holding events there. The local information I got indicated that in the rally that took place there, religious frenzy slogans were raised, no cleaning was done, so those organisations cleaned the place," he said.
The Union Minister said Kharge should not have raised the issue in Parliament without verifying the facts.
He further alleged that the Congress raised the issue after failing to get the desired outcome from Kharge's visit.
"This has been linked to the fact that Mallikarjun Kharge belongs to a deprived society; he held a rally at this place, so a havan process was performed here to purify it... It occurs to me that Mallikarjun Kharge should not have said such a thing in the first place because the Rajya Sabha is the temple of democracy. It is not right to say something in the temple of democracy without gathering information. In fact, when the Congress workers did not get the desired outcome from the national president Mallikarjun Kharge's visit, they created this issue... It means they did not get the rally's output. Because the rally did not yield the desired output, this matter was amplified and linked to a caste controversy. I want to tell Rahul Gandhi, the Congress Party, and Mallikarjun Kharge that Uttarakhand is the land of gods, and the social fabric here is very harmonious," Tamta told ANI.