Rahul Gandhi Faces FIR Over Haldwani ‘Purification’ Ritual Remarks, Congress Slams BJP

After an FIR was filed against Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over his recent comments regarding a "shuddhikaran" (purification) ritual staged at a location in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, where Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had addressed a rally, the Congress criticised the BJP on Monday.

The opposition party said it would fight the casteist attitude behind the event with all its might and respond to the FIR in a democratic and lawful manner.

Selja questions FIR against Rahul Gandhi

Kumari Selja, the Congress national secretary in charge of Uttarakhand, questioned why an FIR was filed against Gandhi for speaking out against the purification ceremony while no action had been taken against those who allegedly conducted it.

“No action against those who conducted the ‘purification’ ritual after Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge ji’s public meeting, but an FIR against Leader of Opposition Shri Rahul Gandhi ji for raising his voice against that casteist act. Is this the justice of the BJP government?” Selja said in a post on X.

She claimed that after the ceremony was conducted, the Uttarakhand BJP president publicly defended it. She accused the BJP administration of targeting Gandhi after he called for legal action against those responsible.

According to Selja, the event is a grave example of the BJP-RSS's "anti-Dalit and anti-Constitution" mentality. She claimed that Gandhi had raised the same issue that Kharge had previously raised in Parliament, saying that the episode had humiliated him and brought back the pain of untouchability.

"But look at the BJP government's approach. Raise questions about those who conducted the 'purification' — FIR. Talk about Dalit dignity — FIR. Raise your voice for the Constitution — FIR," Selja said.

Why is Prime Minister Narendra Modi silent on the entire matter, Selja asked.

Congress vows legal, democratic response to FIR

The BJP-RSS should dispel the notion that the fear of cases would make Rahul Gandhi or the Congress back down, she said.

"This is the Gandhi family, which has a history of sacrifice and dedication for the country. Neither FIRs nor the pressure of power can intimidate or silence this voice," she asserted.

The Congress will give a fitting response through democratic and legal means, Selja said.

"The fight against the casteist mentality behind the 'purification' and for the protection of Dalit dignity and the Constitution will be waged with full force," she said.

FIR against Rahul Gandhi over remarks on ritual

An FIR was lodged against Rahul Gandhi in response to a complaint by a member of the Valmiki community in Haldwani, who alleged that the Congress leader had given a communal tinge to the religious ceremony conducted at the venue of the Congress president's event, police said on Sunday.

Amit Kumar, a resident of Jawahar Nagar and a member of Shri Ram Sena Dharmarth Seva Nyas, said he was present at the "ritual and cleanliness drive" and that Gandhi's comments at a press conference held in Delhi on August 29 had offended the sentiments of the community.

He alleged that Gandhi had insulted people participating in the ceremony by calling them "practising untouchability" and "anti-Dalit".

In his complaint, Amit Kumar said that he belongs to the Scheduled Caste community and that people from all sections of society, including members of the Scheduled Caste community, were involved in the ceremony, which, according to him, had "no connection" with Kharge's caste.

A political controversy arose after some people carried out a 'purification ceremony' at the Ramlila Ground in Haldwani on August 11, following a public meeting organised by Kharge on August 8.

While the Congress has dubbed the incident a manifestation of the BJP's anti-Dalit mindset, the BJP has justified the ceremony, saying that the venue had remained unclean after Kharge's public meeting and that some slogans were shouted at the meeting that were not appropriate for a religious place.

At a press conference in New Delhi on August 29, Gandhi criticised the incident and called for an FIR to be registered under the SC/ST Act against those involved in the "purification".

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra later called for an FIR to be registered against those responsible for the "purification" ceremony.