Patna, Aug. 30 -- Senior BJP leaders on Sunday accused Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi of using the "untouchability plank to ruin India" and "invoking the Dalit identity of Congress president" Mallikarjun Kharge for political gains.
This came a day after Gandhi demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi order the registration of an FIR against those who carried out 'shuddhikaran' (purification) at the venue where party chief Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a rally in Uttarakhand's Haldwani, saying it was a crime according to the Constitution.
He alleged the purification was carried out by BJP and RSS workers on August 10, two days after Kharge's rally in the Uttarakhand city, and said the Congress president raised the issue in Parliament on August 13.
Taking a swipe at Gandhi, Union Minister Giriraj Singh said, "He has developed a sense of untouchability towards India, and he is hell-bent on ruining the country. Untouchability is deeply embedded within the Congress."
About the alleged 'purification' event in Haldwani following Kharge's speech, Singh told PTI Videos that "a programme was conducted at the venue by a group of children belonging to the Scheduled Castes community".
Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi, the Union minister said, "The Congress' problem is that every day it tries to dress up a jackal in a lion's skin. But a jackal ultimately remains a jackal."
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.