Dhami Defends SIR, Rejects Congress Charge Over Haldwani 'Purification' Ritual
Pushkar Singh Dhami backs the Election Commission's SIR, says the Haldwani havan targeted no caste, and accuses the Congress of manufacturing a narrative.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday came out in support of the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, maintaining that the panel's final decisions on the exercise were taken unanimously.
Speaking to reporters, Dhami said the right to question the poll body was not in dispute, but added that any doubt should rest on records rather than assertion. Questions and allegations, he said, ought to be backed by facts and by the institution's full record.
His remarks came amid reports that two Election Commissioners had recorded at least 14 objections touching administrative and procedural aspects of the SIR. Dhami said the commission's official stand was that the final orders were unanimous, and urged that both sets of facts be weighed together before any conclusion is drawn.
He pointed to the commission's press conference on Saturday, noting that the original SIR order of June 24, 2025, along with later schedules for states and Union Territories, had the unanimous approval of the commission. Treating an internal comment or objection as evidence of a split in the final decision, he said, would not be appropriate.
According to Dhami, the purpose of the SIR is not to strip eligible voters of their rights but to clean and update the rolls. He also cited the measures announced by the commission for voters whose records are unmapped or show logical discrepancies.
Haldwani ritual row
Turning to the controversy over a 'purification' ritual held at Haldwani's Ramlila Maidan on August 11, the Chief Minister rejected the Congress's contention that it was directed at party president Mallikarjun Kharge or at Dalits. The havan, he said, was not against any person and not against any caste.
He challenged his critics to produce evidence, asking whether any press release, video, statement or newspaper report before or after the ritual had described it as being aimed at a person or a caste. If such material exists, he said, it should be brought forward and action would follow. He added that Uttarakhand has a tradition of people from different castes and communities taking part together in religious and cultural events.
Dhami also accused the Congress of repeatedly building a narrative to create confusion, saying the party had once again tried to mislead people with its claims against the Election Commission.
Congress escalates
The Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee has kept up its attack on the state government over both the SIR and the Haldwani episode. On September 25, it took out a protest march to the Election Office at the Secretariat and submitted a memorandum addressed to the President, seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the two Election Commissioners.
The party alleged serious irregularities and procedural discrepancies in the SIR and said objections had been filed against a large number of voters. It demanded the publication of Assembly-wise and booth-wise details of all Form-7 applications, and an investigation into those who had filed unusually large numbers of such applications. It further sought that no voter's name be deleted on the strength of a Form-7 application alone until physical verification and an opportunity to be heard had been provided.
The row has now travelled beyond the state. The Congress said on Sunday that it will hold a 'Dalit-Adivasi Self-Respect Meeting' in New Delhi on September 29 to discuss the ritual and what it called continuing violations of laws protecting Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Congress MP Mallu Ravi said the meeting is being organised by the party's SC/ST MPs' Forum along with AICC departments handling Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe matters. He described the incident as an insult not just to Kharge but to the entire SC/ST community, and accused the BJP of backing the episode, alleging that the party's state president had openly supported those who conducted the ritual.
Congress leaders also called the Modi government anti-Dalit and anti-tribal. The September 29 gathering, they said, will bring together party MPs, former MPs, ministers from Congress-ruled states, MLAs and AICC representatives to deliberate on discrimination and violence faced by SC and ST communities.