
The Rajya Sabha witnessed a massive uproar on Tuesday after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said a 'shuddhikaran' (purification) ceremony was held at the venue of his rally in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand. Union Minister…
The Rajya Sabha witnessed a massive uproar on Tuesday after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said a 'shuddhikaran' (purification) ceremony was held at the venue of his rally in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand. Union Minister JP Nadda called the incident "unfortunate" and asserted that the BJP does not subscribe to such acts, India Today reports.

NDTV reports that Uttarakhand Congress chief Ganesh Godiyal alleged the Shri Ram Sena group that performed the ceremony was associated with the BJP. The BJP has vehemently denied this charge. The row has triggered a fresh political slugfest between the two parties.
Both sides are using this episode for political point-scoring, but the real issue is the persistence of caste-based purity rituals in public spaces. The Congress paints it as proof of BJP's bigotry, while the BJP calls it a fringe act it does not endorse. Each story suits its teller. The fair test is action: the Uttarakhand government should name and prosecute whoever performed the ritual, not just condemn it in Parliament.
Sources (2): ndtv.com, indiatoday.in
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.