During the CWC meeting on Wednesday, Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge said he was 'upset' after party leaders failed to back him over the 'purification' row. He condemned the incident and said that the party leaders should have openly come in his support.

Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge expressed his disappointment during the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on Wednesday when he told party leaders that he was 'upset' after several of them failed to back him over the 'purification' row, said sources on Thursday.

According to them, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Rajya Sabha told CWC members that they should have backed him openly on this matter, but they failed to do it, which left him disappointed and upset.

Kharge, a veteran Congress leader, was referring to the 'purification' ritual that was organised in Uttarakhand's Haldwani after he addressed a public meeting at the Ramlila Maidan on August 8. The senior Rajya Sabha member has called out the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the incident, even as the saffron party distanced itself from it.

"You (BJP) are anti-religion because when a person like me goes to Uttarakhand and gives a speech in front of lakhs of people, two days later you conduct a purification ceremony at the building," Kharge said at an event in Goa on Monday. "Does your religion teach this? Do your people teach this? Do your gurus teach you to do this?"

Row erupts in Parliament
The Congress chief had also raised the issue in the Rajya Sabha on last day of the Parliament Monsoon Session on August 13 where he said that his Haldwani rally was not a political event and he only raised issues that were being faced by the people.

With the row escalating, the BJP distanced itself from the incident, with Union Health and Family Affairs Minister JP Nadda saying the saffron party does not support such things; although he promised a thorough investigation in the matter.

"We will investigate this. However, if Kharge ji is accusing us for this, then that is not acceptable. Whoever has done this, it is wrong. Don't sensationalise this," Nadda, who is the Leader of House in Rajya Sabha, had said.

Meanwhile, Kharge has received support from opposition leaders, including Bahunjan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, who has called for a police action. "This matter is highly condemnable and deeply concerning," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) earlier this month.