A picture of BJP’s Dalit MP Dr Ramshankar Katheria paying his obeisance is seen bowing down to the ground from a distance to the Shankaracharya sitting on the sofa. Two such pictures are going viral in which it is being claimed that Shankaracharya did not allow Dalit BJP MP to touch his feet.
“This is the status of Dalits in Hinduism, whether he becomes an MP, MLA, DM or SP, he will remain untouchable. By touching the feet of a Brahmin Hindu Shankaracharya will become impure. Despite being an MP, he is sitting on the ground. Why did Babasaheb give reservations to Dalits in politics? He should have allowed them to be slaves,” a Facebook post that is widely being shared on social media said.
The picture, uploaded by Facebook user Ravindra Singh, instantly went viral on social media platforms alleging that Puri Shankaracharya discriminated against the BJP leader because he belonged to the Dalit community. Several users on social media shared the picture on the internet and accused the Hindu saint of practising untouchability against a Dalit leader.
BJP MP Dr Ramshankar Katheria busts fake news, calls claims of Puri Shankaracharya discriminating against him totally baseless and untrue
As the pictures went viral, Dr Ramshankar Katheria himself took to social media to address the viral claims being bandied around on the internet and issue a clarification on the matter. He rubbished the social media claims that Puri Shankaracharya discriminated against him and called them fake. The BJP leader also condemned the fake news and called for taking strict action against those responsible for spreading the misleading information.
Taking to Twitter, Katheria tweeted, “Shrimad Bhagwat Katha was organized at my place in Nagaria-Sarawa, Etawah, from 15th to 22nd May 2022, in which Dr Shyamsundar Parashar Ji of Vrindavan was the narrator. On 16th March 2022, I had gone to invite Puri Shankaracharya Ji Param Pujya Shri Nischalanand Saraswati Ji to attend the function.”
“During that time I was in his company for 1 hour and received his blessings. Whatever is being shown in the media, no such incident happened, it is completely untrue. I strongly condemn this and demand strict action against such people who are showing all this wrong,” the BJP MP added in a subsequent tweet along with a snapshot of the Facebook post that has gone viral on social media.
A similar falsehood was spread by AAP MP Sanjay Singh in August 2020, when he asserted that Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya was not invited to the Ayodhya Ram temple Bhumipujan because of being a Dalit, even though Deputy CM Maurya had already tweeted and told that he is present in Bhoomi Pujan. He had also released his pictures from the event.