Congress Accuses BJP of Anti-Dalit Actions in Temple Controversy

The Congress has accused the BJP of displaying an anti-Dalit mindset after a BJP leader sprinkled Ganga water in a temple visited by Tikaram Jully, a Dalit leader. The Congress claims this action reflects deep-rooted discrimination by the BJP and RSS, demanding an apology from BJP's top leadership.

The Congress has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of perpetuating an 'anti-Dalit' attitude, urging its top leadership to issue a public apology. This call-to-action follows an incident where BJP leader Gyan Dev Ahuja sprinkled Ganga water in a Ram temple, supposedly to 'purify' it after Congress leader Tikaram Jully, who is Dalit, attended a ceremony there.

According to Congress's general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, the act exemplifies the discriminatory and narrow mindset deep-rooted in the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologies. Ramesh suggests that this mindset, which he claims continues to thrive in certain ideological circles such as Nagpur, the RSS headquarters, blatantly contradicts the ideals laid out by Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar against caste discrimination.

The Congress criticized the BJP's actions, claiming they insult the fundamental principles of Lord Ram and the Constitution's spirit. Meanwhile, BJP's Gyan Dev Ahuja defended his actions, denying any caste bias and questioning the Congress party's moral authority to partake in such religious ceremonies given their alleged past stance on Lord Ram.

(With inputs from agencies.)