Rahul Gandhi demanded an FIR over a ‘shuddhikaran’ ceremony held at the Haldwani venue where Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had addressed a rally earlier this month.
Calling the incident a “crime”, Gandhi said it reflected the BJP-RSS mindset towards Dalits and demanded justice for Kharge.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi order an FIR under the SC/ST Act against individuals who performed a 'shuddhikaran' ceremony.
The purification ritual took place on August 10 at Ramlila Maidan in Haldwani, two days after All India Congress Committee president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a rally at the venue on August 8. Gandhi asserted that it is the RSS people who did it.
Gandhi termed the act a crime that exposed an anti-Dalit mindset, noting that 20 days have passed since the "crime" was committed, but no action has been taken. He addressed a press conference to seek immediate government intervention.
"We are demanding justice for the Congress president. Give the Congress president justice in Uttarakhand. It is the duty of the central and state governments to ensure that Kharge gets justice," Gandhi said as per PTI.
Ideological Battle
Gandhi linked the Haldwani incident to a wider ideological conflict.
"There is a fight between two ideologies -the Constitution given by the likes of BR Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru on one side, and the BJP-RSS on the other side," he said.
He cited other Dalit leaders who faced purification situations at different times. These included Rajasthan Congress leader Tikaram Jully and National Democratic Alliance minister Jitan Ram Manjhi. Gandhi argued that the more successful the Dalit person is, the attack on him or her is more fierce, adding, "This is another name for untouchability."
"The BJP people practice untouchability. When they do shuddhikaran, they say that Dalits cannot touch as they are impure," Gandhi said.
Gandhi highlighted ongoing daily discrimination against marginalised communities. "For thousands of years, violence was perpetrated against Dalits. This is illegal under the constitution, but today also in schools, Dalit children are made to clean toilets. This is the reality of the country," Gandhi said.
He pointed out that Dalits are not allowed to drink water from wells, and tea stalls keep separate paper cups for Dalits while using glass for others. He added that grooms often wear helmets during wedding processions to protect themselves from physical assault.
BJP Faces Untouchability Row
Uttarakhand BJP chief Mahendra Bhatt defended the ritual. He reportedly claimed the venue was polluted with slogans unfit for a religious place and dismissed opposition criticism. The Congress on Thursday asked whether the ruling party would take action against the leader as he "defended untouchability" as per PTI.
Gandhi targeted the prime minister over this stance.
"We demand that an FIR be lodged against those who have done this. PM Modi states that he belongs to every caste and is the prime minister of the country, but his party chief of Uttarakhand defends shuddhikaran," Gandhi added..
Uttarakhand Congress chief Ganesh Godiyal accused the BJP-linked Shri Ram Sena of performing the ritual. The ruling party vehemently denied this charge.
"They did shuddhikaran on August 10, two days after the rally of Kharge ji in Haldwani. This is a crime. On August 13, Kharge ji raised this issue in Parliament," Gandhi recalled.
Mallikarjun Kharge raised the issue in the upper house earlier this month. He demanded that cases be registered under the untouchability law against those involved in the act and that they be arrested.
Leader of the House and Union minister JP Nadda said the BJP did not subscribe to such activities and promised that the incident would be investigated.
