Ex-BJP MLA reiterates he faced insult for being Dalit in Nagpur

Bengaluru, Dec 9 (IANS) Former BJP MLA Goolihatti Shekar has reiterated that he faced an insult for being a Dalit when he visited Hedgewar’s memorial in Nagpur.

An audio of Sheakar challenging BJP leaders and Sangh Parivar in this regard has gone viral on Saturday.

Former MLA from Hosadurga constituency can be heard saying, “I am being asked to release the video regarding my visit to Hedgewar’s Memorial. If I had given a false statement, henceforth I would clean your houses.”

“You will have the CCTV footage. If what I have said turns out to be a lie, I will become the gatekeeper in your houses. If I had spoken about it earlier, you (BJP and Sangh Parivar) would have lost many more seats in assembly elections,” he stated.

Commenting on former BJP MLA P. Rajeev’s charge that he is a drunkard, Goolihatti Shekar has stated that the money collected from liquor is a major source of revenue for the government and his pension is paid with that money.

Goolihatti Shekar had stated that he experienced the insult when he went to the Hedgewar Museum in Nagpur when he had gone for a trip before the elections. “I went to Hedgewar’s Museum thinking that it is our RSS office.

While entering the museum, before entering while giving names, one of the persons spoke to the person who accompanied me. I stayed out after that. That pain is still fresh in my mind, and that’s why I have released the audio,” he explained.

“People asked me if I released the audio because BJP refused to provide a ticket to contest. I am still pained by the incident. I had won on a BJP ticket earlier. Politics in these matters is not tenable. I have explained my pain. I am not in the BJP party now, and I can’t question them. That pain haunts me always,” he maintained.

The Karnataka unit of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) issued a clarification over the controversy that former Dalit BJP leader from the state Goolihatti Shekar was denied entry to RSS headquarters.

According to a statement, there is no system in place to register the names of visitors to the Nagpur Sangh’s office.

The statement dismisses the allegation as 'baseless' and 'inconsequential'.

The statement read, “Former MLA from Hosadurga, Goolihatti Shekar, alleged in an audio recording that he was denied entry to Dr. Hedgewar’s Memorial Building in Nagpur due to caste reasons. However, there is no system for recording the names of visitors at all. Free entry is allowed to the RSS office and similar memorials.”