'May Lord Ram punish those who looted in his name': Kharge's veiled dig at BJP over Ayodhya temple donation row

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday invoked Lord Ram while attacking the BJP over the Ayodhya temple theft fund row, saying he should “open his eyes” and punish those who allegedly looted wealth in his name.

Speaking in Patna, Kharge also targeted the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, calling the fight against it a “second war of independence” and urging the people of Bihar to support a nationwide movement against the exercise.

“We demand that all elections be conducted on ballot papers, SIR halted immediately, assembly polls held in last two years annulled”, Kharge added.

Kharge seeks action over ‘suddhikaran’ row

Kharge also said there would be no peace in the country as long as the RSS ideology persisted. Referring to the alleged ‘suddhikaran’ (purification) incident targeting him, he said Nadda had promised an inquiry into the matter.

“We need to find those involved in carrying out ‘suddhikaran’,” Kharge said.

The controversy erupted after Kharge addressed a Congress rally at Ramlila Maidan in Haldwani on August 8. Members of a right-wing group reportedly conducted a purification ritual at the ground later, drawing criticism from Congress leaders.

Earlier. Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi order an FIR against those involved in the ‘suddhikaran’ (purification) of the Ramlila ground.

Gandhi also played a purported video showing the BJP’s Uttarakhand chief supporting the ritual and sought “justice” for the Congress president.

According to an earlier HT report, Kharge had raised the issue of the purification ritual at the Congress Working Committee meeting on August 19, expressing disappointment that some party leaders had not taken it up.

Demanding an FIR against those who conducted the ritual, Rahul Gandhi claimed that the BJP’s Uttarakhand unit chief had said that ‘suuddhikaran was the right thing to do’. He described the act as 'illegal.