Bengaluru, Aug 13 (IANS) Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Revenue and Sports Minister, G. Parameshwara, on Thursday condemned the alleged “purification” ritual conducted at a venue in Uttarakhand after Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge visited the site, describing the incident as evidence that “caste discrimination and untouchability continue to persist in the country”.
Kharge had participated in a Congress programme at the Ram Leela Ground in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani on August 8.
Parameshwara said that he was deeply hurt by reports that the venue was subsequently subjected to a “purification” ritual because Kharge belongs to the Dalit community.
“I strongly condemn this disgraceful and inhuman act of caste-based humiliation directed against our senior party leader Mallikarjun Kharge. This incident is evidence that the dark practices of caste discrimination and untouchability continue to remain alive in our country even today,” the Minister said in a statement.
Drawing a contrast between India’s achievements in space exploration and the persistence of caste discrimination, Parameshwara said that Indian society had achieved the historic feat of reaching the Moon’s South Pole, yet continued to hesitate to touch a Dalit.
“Indians made history by becoming the first to reach the South Pole of the Moon, yet it is equally true that our society is still hesitant to touch a Dalit who is part of that very society. These are the two contrasting faces of Indian society,” he added.
Parameshwara asked what ordinary Dalits could be experiencing if even the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Kharge was subjected to such treatment.
“As a Dalit, I am deeply troubled by the question of whether India under PM Narendra Modi’s rule is being taken back to the era of Manusmriti,” he said.
He recalled the contribution of B.R. Ambedkar, saying the Constitution provided a path towards dignity and equality for oppressed communities and was a remedy to the humiliation and discrimination he had witnessed and experienced.
Parameshwara alleged that vested interests were continuing to promote casteism, untouchability, superstition and regressive practices despite Constitutional safeguards.
“Such people are not merely ‘anti-Constitution’; they are ‘anti-national’ as well,” he said, referring to those who carried out the alleged purification ritual.
He urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure that cases were registered against those responsible for what he described as “unconstitutional untouchability” carried out in the name of “purification” and demanded stringent punishment.
“If such practices are not brought to an end through the law, future generations will certainly not forgive us,” Parameshwara said.
He also appealed to members of Dalit, oppressed and marginalised communities who are currently associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party to introspect and question whose interests they are strengthening.
–IANS
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