Sirsa MP Selja seeks impartial probe into alleged purification ritual at Haldwani rally venue and asks BJP leadership to clearly reject caste-based discrimination and untouchability
CHANDIGARH | PEN OF DEMOCRACY NEWS DESK
Sirsa MP, former Union Minister, Congress national general secretary and CWC member Kumari Selja has described the alleged ‘shuddhikaran’ of the venue where Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a public meeting in Haldwani as a serious and unfortunate development, saying that there should be no place in modern India for any mindset that humiliates or makes a person feel inferior on the basis of caste.
Selja demanded an impartial investigation into the entire episode and said that if any violation of law is established, appropriate action should be taken against those responsible. Her remarks come amid a political controversy in Uttarakhand after a purification ritual was reportedly conducted at Ramlila Ground in Haldwani following Kharge’s August 8 rally.
Kumari Selja said the issue should not be reduced to a routine political exchange between the Congress and the BJP because it concerns much wider questions of equality, dignity and social justice. She said that when an individual publicly states that an incident made him feel the pain of untouchability and humiliation, the matter deserves to be examined with seriousness and sensitivity rather than being dismissed as another political controversy. Kharge raised the issue in the Rajya Sabha and said the incident had made him feel humiliated and reminded him of untouchability.
She said that in public life, no person should face behaviour that affects his or her dignity because of caste, religion or social background. According to Selja, political differences and ideological disagreements are natural parts of a democracy, but they cannot justify conduct that undermines the dignity of another citizen.
The Congress leader expressed particular concern over comments by Uttarakhand BJP president Mahendra Bhatt, who has publicly defended the purification ritual. Bhatt said the ground had been “polluted” by slogans and argued that it was subsequently purified, according to reports. The BJP leadership, however, has sought to distance the party from the ritual, with BJP leaders stating that the organisation behind the programme was not acting on behalf of the party.
Selja said the contrasting positions make it even more important that the facts of the episode are established through an impartial inquiry. She said people holding responsible political positions should use language that brings society together, discourages discrimination and strengthens constitutional values.
“If an incident hurts the dignity of any section of society, the appropriate response should be sensitivity and clarification rather than its defence,” Selja said in substance, stressing that political leadership carries a wider social responsibility.
She also called upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP’s national leadership to make their position clear on the controversy. Selja said the country deserves to know whether the BJP leadership considers such practices at public places acceptable or whether it unequivocally rejects caste-based discrimination and the mindset associated with untouchability.
The controversy emerged after Shri Ram Sena Dharmarth Seva Nyas reportedly organised a purification havan at Haldwani’s Ramlila Ground on August 10, two days after Kharge addressed a Congress rally there. The organisation reportedly cited slogans raised during the rally as the reason for the ritual. Congress leaders have interpreted the episode as reflecting caste prejudice, while the BJP has denied that the party was responsible for the event.
Selja said that whatever the political circumstances surrounding the event, modern India cannot afford practices or statements that appear to revive social attitudes based on purity, pollution or caste hierarchy. She said India has travelled a long democratic and social distance since Independence and has built constitutional and legal safeguards against untouchability and discrimination.
Referring to Dr B.R. Ambedkar and the Constitution, Selja said every citizen has the right to equality, dignity and respect. She said the constitutional framework was designed to ensure that people are not treated differently because of their caste or social background.
She added that the struggle against untouchability and caste discrimination has continued for decades and that the responsibility of protecting those gains does not rest with governments alone. Political parties, social organisations, educational institutions and citizens must all contribute to creating a society based on equality and mutual respect.
The Congress leader said incidents that appear to reinforce an old discriminatory mindset are particularly concerning at a time when India is presenting itself as a modern and progressive democracy. Economic and technological development, she said, cannot be considered complete if social equality and human dignity remain under pressure.
Selja also stressed that the issue should not be viewed solely through the prism of Congress versus BJP politics. She said the larger question concerns the dignity of millions of Dalits, disadvantaged communities and all citizens who believe in constitutional equality and social justice.
She said political ideologies may differ and parties may strongly disagree with one another, but there can be no compromise when it comes to the basic dignity of a human being. Democracy, she added, becomes stronger when every citizen is treated with equal respect regardless of caste, religion or social background.
The Congress leader called upon all political and social organisations to take responsibility for combating caste-based thinking. She said public representatives should help create an atmosphere in which people from every community feel equal and respected.
According to Selja, the answer to such controversies is not to return to practices that divide society but to strengthen awareness about constitutional rights and responsibilities. She said the younger generation must be encouraged to understand equality, social justice, fraternity and human dignity as foundational principles of modern India.
She said the country does not need the “purification” of a person or a public platform; what it needs is the elimination of the mindset that judges a person according to caste. For her, the deeper challenge is social and ideological rather than merely political.
Selja said India can move forward only by upholding the values associated with the Constitution—equality, social justice, dignity and fraternity. She called for a clear and unequivocal rejection of untouchability and caste discrimination in public discourse and public life.
She reiterated her demand for an impartial examination of the Haldwani episode and appropriate legal action if any offence is found to have been committed. At the same time, she urged political leaders to use the controversy as an opportunity to reaffirm that no citizen should be humiliated or treated as inferior because of caste.
The Congress leader said the strength of India lies in its diversity and constitutional framework and that every effort must be made to ensure that social equality is reflected not only in laws but also in everyday public behaviour.
POD/DESK
