Former Karnataka MLA accuses RSS museum of denying entry based on caste
BENGALURU:
Goolihatti D Shekar, a former Karnataka MLA from Hosadurga constituency, has alleged that because he was a Dalit he was denied entry into the RSS Founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar Museum in Nagpur. The RSS denied his claim, calling it baseless.
In an audio message addressed to BJP national general secretary B L Santhosh, Shekar claimed that he had visited the RSS headquarters in Nagpur three to four months ago with two others. On a visit to the Hedgewar museum there, someone at the entrance gate asked him to write his name and address on the visitors’ register.
”I wrote my name and was about to step in when the man standing there asked, ‘Sir, if you don’t mind, are you from the reserved category’, which means whether I am from the scheduled caste. When I said, ‘yes’ they said they don’t allow SC (people),” Shekar alleged.
Shekar, a former Minister, had quit BJP and contested the May 2023 assembly election from Hosadurga constituency in Chitradurga district as an independent after the party denied him a ticket. B G Govindappa from Congress won the election while Shekar came fourth.
The Karnataka chapter of the RSS rejected his charge saying that there is no register in any office of the outfit anywhere as anyone can walk anywhere in the RSS headquarters.
RSS Karnataka Press Release on Statements of Former MLA Sri Goolihatti Shekhar. pic.twitter.com/eTHXStQeYQ
— Rajesh Padmar (@rajeshpadmar) December 6, 2023
In a statement, it said:” Goolihatti Shekar who has said that the incident happened at least four months before the assembly election, met several RSS leaders after that but never told them about the ‘insult’ meted out to him. It is surprising that he is issuing a statement 10 months after the incident.” It further said the RSS welcomes everyone with an open mindset. PTI
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