Congress to hold nationwide protests against FIR on Rahul Gandhi over Haldwani remarks

The Congress party has announced nationwide protests on Monday evening against the FIR registered against Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi over his remarks on a 'purification' ritual held at a rally venue in Haldwani, Uttarakhand. The party termed the case 'frivolous' and accused the BJP of defending casteist behaviour.

Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said in a post on X that the FIR was an attack on the constitutional values of social justice. He alleged that the BJP was using state machinery against those who speak out against atrocities on Dalits. Venugopal added that the party would not rest until those responsible for insulting Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge are punished and the FIR against Gandhi is quashed.

The FIR was filed on Sunday, a day after Gandhi demanded prosecution of BJP workers for a 'shuddhikaran havan' (purification ritual) conducted at Ramlila Maidan in Haldwani, days after Kharge, a Dalit leader, addressed a rally there. Gandhi had called the act a 'crime' and said it reflected the 'untouchability' Dalits face, exposing the 'BJP-RSS mindset'. He had urged the registration of a case under the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Atrocities) Act.

The complainant, a member of the Valmiki community, said the ritual was a cleanliness drive and religious ceremony with no connection to any individual or caste. Based on the complaint, police booked Gandhi for promoting enmity between groups, outraging religious feelings, and under the SC/ST Act for giving false information leading a public servant to harm a Scheduled Caste member.