Kerala CM slams BJP over stage purification after Kharge speech

After a very important leader gave a speech, some people reportedly did a special ceremony to 'purify' the stage where he had stood.

The leader was Mallikarjun Kharge, the president of the Congress party, who spoke at Ramlila Maidan in Haldwani, Uttarakhand on August 8.

Purifying a place after a Dalit leader has been there is seen as a form of untouchability and is very disrespectful.

Kerala Chief Minister V. D. Satheesan strongly condemned the act and called it shameful, undemocratic, and an insult to the country's constitutional values of equality and dignity.

He said Dalits have shaped India's history, strengthened its democracy, and built the nation through generations of struggle and sacrifice.

He said the BJP and the Sangh Parivar cannot erase the Dalit community's contribution no matter how they try to rewrite history.

Mr. Kharge raised the matter in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's parliament.

He alleged that people associated with the BJP carried out the purification and demanded that cases be registered under the Untouchability Act.

He also demanded that those responsible be arrested and sent to jail.