Congress Dalit MPs to Meet Over Haldwani 'Purification' Ritual
Congress Dalit MPs will meet on Sept 7 to discuss the Haldwani 'purification' ritual and plan next steps.
Dalit members of Parliament from the Congress party are set to convene in New Delhi on September 7 to deliberate on the controversial 'purification' ceremony conducted in Haldwani, Uttarakhand. The meeting comes in the wake of an event that followed a public rally addressed by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on August 8.
Party insiders indicate that Congress MP Mallu Ravi has spearheaded the initiative to organize the gathering, which aims to formally denounce the ritual and chart a course of action. A senior Dalit lawmaker confirmed that all Dalit and Scheduled Tribe MPs have been invited to the session at Indira Bhawan. The primary objective, the MP stated, is to devise a strategy ensuring the incident remains a focal point of public discourse.
The development follows the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, in Haldwani. The FIR was filed under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The legal action came a day after Gandhi, speaking at a press conference in the national capital, called upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi to order an investigation into the 'shuddhikaran havan' (purification ritual). The ceremony was reportedly held at Ramlila Maidan in Haldwani shortly after Kharge's rally there.