Congress Protests Alleged Discrimination Against Kharge In Hanamkonda

Congress leaders and cadres staged a protest in Hanamkonda on Friday against the alleged “purification” of a platform after AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a gathering in Haldwani.

The protest was organised on the call of the AICC under the leadership of Hanamkonda DCC president Inagalla Venkataram Reddy. Party cadres took out a rally from Ambedkar Junction to Public Gardens and later staged a satyagraha near the Mahatma Gandhi statue.

Warangal MP Dr Kadiyam Kavya and MLAs Naini Rajender Reddy and K.R. Nagaraju participated in the programme and expressed solidarity with Kharge.

Venkataram Reddy said the alleged use of Ganga water and performance of a havan to “purify” the platform used by Kharge amounted to caste discrimination and was condemnable. He said such incidents showed that caste discrimination had not been completely eradicated despite the Constitution abolishing untouchability.

“The country is moving towards modernity, but incidents of this nature show that caste discrimination has not been completely eradicated. Such acts are an insult to the values of the Constitution,” he said.

The Congress leaders demanded stringent legal action against those responsible. The MLAs said the alleged treatment of Kharge was an affront to democratic and constitutional values and demanded the immediate arrest and punishment of those responsible.