Jaipur, April 8 BJP's senior leader Gyan Dev Ahuja has been suspended from the primary membership of the party after sprinkling Ganga jal following the visit of Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, Tika Ram Jully, to a Ram Mandir.
A show cause notice has also been issued, and the BJP has demanded a response from Ahuja within three days.
The suspension of Ahuja from the BJP and the show cause notice come days after he sprinkled Ganga jal at a temple in Alwar to 'purify' the premises after Congress leader Tikaram Jully, a Dalit, attended the temple's consecration ceremony.
Determined not to let Ahuja's 'purification' stunt harm its prospects in eastern Rajasthan, where Dalit voters play a key role, the Rajasthan BJP leadership has sent a notice to Ahuja.
The notice, issued by BJP MP and senior Rajasthan leader Damodar Agarwal, has sought an explanation from Ahuja within three days.
The notice warns that if the former MLA does not send his response to state party chief Madan Rathore within three days, he will face disciplinary action.
Meanwhile, Congress workers across the state held protests against Ahuja on Tuesday.
In a symbolic act of dissent, late on Monday night, activists of an organisation smeared the nameplate outside Ahuja’s residence in Mansarovar, Jaipur, with soot.
LoP Jully visited the Ramlala temple in Alwar’s Shalimar area on April 6.
Following this, Ahuja made the following statement: “Tika Ram Jully is anti-Hindu. He visited the Karni Mata temple and also the Shri Ram temple. After he leaves, I will go to those places and wherever his unholy feet fell, wherever his hands touched the idols, I will sprinkle Ganga jal and offer my prayers to Lord Shri Ram.”
The very next day, on April 7, former Ramgarh MLA Ahuja visited the Ram temple and sprinkled Ganga jal.
Ahuja defended his actions, saying: “During the Pran Pratishtha ceremony at the Ramlala temple on Ramnavami, Congress leaders were invited, which I believe led to the temple being defiled. I have now purified it by sprinkling Ganga jal.”
The show cause notice issued to Ahuja on Tuesday by Damodar Agarwal condemned the BJP leader’s actions, stating that after Jully’s visit, Ahuja’s act of sprinkling Ganga jal at the Ram temple had tarnished the party’s image and was a clear instance of gross indiscipline.
In the notice, Damodar Agarwal also reminded Ahuja of the historical significance of the Ram Mandir’s foundation stone laying ceremony.
He emphasised that the first stone of the temple was laid by Dalit leader Kameshwar Chaupal, underscoring the inclusiveness of the temple's construction.
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