BJP leader suspended for 'purifying' temple after visit by Congress' Jully

The BJP has suspended former MLA Gyandev Ahuja from the primary membership of the party for in Rajasthan's Alwar following a visit by state Congress leader and Rajasthan assembly Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully.

Earlier in the day, the Congress accused the BJP of being "anti-Dalit" and demanded an apology from its top leadership after Ahuja sprinkled Ganga water at the Ram temple following the participation of Jully, a Dalit, in the consecration ceremony there.

BJP state general-secretary Damodar Agarwal issued a show cause notice to Ahuja on Tuesday and sought a reply within three days. "As per the instructions of the BJP state president, you are suspended from the primary membership of the Bharatiya Janata Party with immediate effect," the order said.

The letter said, if Ahuja wants to give any clarification on these allegations, he can do so within three days, after which, further disciplinary action will be taken against him accordingly.

"The party's image has been tarnished by Ahuja's statement and act in this matter and his act comes under the definition of gross indiscipline," the letter said.

A Ram temple in Alwar was allegedly purified on the orders of BJP leader Gyandev Ahuja after a visit was paid by Rajasthan's Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully, who also is a Dalit.

As soon as the Dalit Congress leader left, Ahuja sprinkled gangajal, an attempt to “purify” the… pic.twitter.com/qjcrs8Mp2n

— The Siasat Daily (@TheSiasatDaily) April 8, 2025

Congress workers protested at the district headquarters on Tuesday over the incident and termed the incident as an example of the BJP's 'anti-Dalit mentality.' Ahuja's effigy was also burnt in many places.

Congress veteran and former chief minister Ashok Gehlot criticised the BJP leader, saying, "The incident of BJP leader Ahuja sprinkling Ganga jal after Leader of Opposition Jully visited the temple reflects the BJP's ill-will towards Dalits. Such narrow-mindedness is not acceptable in a civilised society in the 21st century. No amount of strong words can be used to condemn this."

भाजपा नेता श्री ज्ञानदेव आहूजा द्वारा नेता प्रतिपक्ष श्री @TikaRamJullyINC के मंदिर जाने के बाद गंगाजल छिड़कने की घटना दलितों के प्रति भाजपा की दुर्भावना को दर्शाती है। 21वीं सदी में ऐसी संकीर्ण मानसिकता एक सभ्य समाज में स्वीकार्य नहीं है। इसकी जितने कड़े शब्दों में निंदा की जाए…

— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) April 7, 2025

Maintaining that there was no caste angle to his act, Ahuja, however, defended his action, saying Congress leaders have "no moral authority" to attend such ceremonies as the party's leadership had questioned the existence of Lord Ram and "boycotted" the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya last year.

Dalit leader Jully is a Congress MLA from the Alwar (rural) seat, while Ahuja is a former BJP MLA from Alwar's Ramgarh assembly segment.