Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radha Krishnan on Thursday directed the government to conduct a thorough inquiry into the alleged “purification” of a site in Uttarakhand where Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge had addressed a gathering. The controversy erupted after Kharge raised the issue in the Upper House, alleging that people linked to the BJP conducted a havan and “shuddikaran” ritual at the stage at Ram Lila Maidan in Haldwani following his address. Kharge said he had not referred to any religion during his speech and had only spoken about issues faced by people.

A heated political clash erupted between Congress and BJP over a controversial purification ceremony. Congress accused a BJP-affiliated group of conducting the rituals based on…

DEHRADUN: A fierce political controversy erupted in Uttarakhand after a right-wing group performed a hawan for the “suddhikaran” (purification) of Haldwani’s Ram Lila Ground, two…