NEW DELHI: Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday hit back at Rahul Gandhi after the Congress leader held a press conference over the “purification” row involving party president Mallikarjun Kharge.Dhami said those who performed the “purification” ritual at Haldwani’s Ramlila Ground after Kharge’s rally were not associated with the ruling BJP. He also alleged that “slogans invoking religious frenzy” were raised at the event and people responded to that.“No BJP worker was among those who carried out the purification… Nobody in Uttarakhand knows which caste Kharge ji belongs to. But people from a particular community raised slogans invoking religious frenzy. In response, some religious organisations held a purification programme there,” the chief minister told reporters, describing the Congress as a party that lacks genuine issues to raise.He further questioned who in Uttarakhand would claim that caste-based discrimination exists in the state.“Congress has only worked for appeasement and is now spreading this narrative for votes. No such incident happened, neither against Kharge ji nor against the Congress. People came forward themselves and carried out the purification in response to the religious slogans that were raised. Kharge ji is such a respected leader… How can the people of Uttarakhand insult him? People here are not like that. If Congress wants votes, it should work hard for them,” Dhami added.
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His remarks came after Rahul Gandhi, wearing a blue T-shirt — a colour associated with the Dalit community to which Kharge belongs — held a press conference at the Congress headquarters in Delhi and demanded action against those he alleged were associated with the BJP and its ideological mentor, the RSS.“This act violates the SC/ST Act. Performing a ‘purification’ ritual is a crime. Yet, no action has been taken. Therefore, we demand that an FIR be registered immediately against those who carried out this purification ritual in Uttarakhand. We want the Prime Minister to immediately order the registration of an FIR against these individuals under the SC/ST Act. It is the duty of both the state and central governments to ensure that Kharge ji receives justice in Uttarakhand,” the Lok Sabha leader of opposition said.