Congress slams BJP's 'discriminatory, anti-Dalit mindset', after leader 'purifies' temple

Ahmedabad, Apr 8 (PTI) The Congress on Tuesday accused the BJP of being "anti-Dalit" and demanded an apology from its top leadership after a party leader sprinkled Ganga water at a Ram temple in Rajasthan's Alwar to "purify" it following Congress' Tikaram Jully's participation in the consecration ceremony there.

Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said the roots of the ideology of the BJP and the RSS are deep in the "anti-Dalit, discriminatory, and narrow mindset".

Training for such thinking is given in Nagpur, and their pretence keeps getting exposed again and again, Ramesh, who is here to attend the CWC meeting and the AICC session, said in a post in Hindi on X.

The headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is located in Nagpur in Maharashtra.

"Tikaram Jully ji is the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly and is a respected leader from the Dalit community. BJP leader Gyan Dev Ahuja purifying Lord Ram's temple with Ganga water after Jully visited the temple on the day of Ramnavami, is an open demonstration of the BJP-RSS's deep-rooted anti-Dalit mentality. This conduct is also a gross insult to the basic ideals of Lord Shri Ram," Ramesh said.

"Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar struggled throughout his life against such a mentality. Through the Constitution, he wanted a Bharat where there is no place for caste discrimination. But today the soul of the same Constitution is being trampled by the BJP-RSS," Ramesh alleged.

"The question is, where do leaders like Gyan Dev Ahuja get the strength of such disgusting thinking and sorrowful behaviour? The answer is straightforward, this power comes from that ideology, whose tradition stems from boycotts and discrimination. Prime Minister Modi comes from this tradition, and Gyan Dev Ahuja too. This is not an exception, this is their identity " he said.

The top leadership of the BJP should publicly apologise for this embarrassing incident, Ramesh said.

Congress leaders, including Jully and former chief minister Ashok Gehlot, have termed Ahuja's act an insult to Dalits, but the BJP leader denied the charge.

Maintaining that there was no caste angle to his act, Ahuja, however, defended his action, saying Congress leaders have "no moral authority" to attend such ceremonies as the party's leadership had questioned the existence of Lord Ram and "boycotted" the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya last year.

The consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in a residential society of Alwar was held on Sunday on the occasion of Ram Navami and Jully was in attendance.

On Monday, Ahuja said the consecration ceremony was a "good programme", but there were some "discrepancies".

"I went there today and sprinkled Ganga water to purify the temple premises," he told reporters in Alwar.

"The Congress' former president Sonia Gandhi had got affidavits submitted in court, calling Lord Ram mythical. Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi boycotted the historic Ram temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya. So the party leaders have no moral authority to attend such programmes," he said.

When contacted, Ahuja told PTI that he took the step because of Congress leaders' view and approach towards Lord Ram and not because Jully is a "Dalit".

Jully, on the other hand, claimed that Ahuja's act was indicative of the BJP's mentality towards Dalits. He claimed it was not only an attack on his faith but also an effort to promote the crime of untouchability. PTI