Rahul Gandhi demands FIR over Haldwani 'purification' ritual after Kharge's visit

Congress wants Prime Minister Narendra Modi to order an FIR under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against those who carried out a ‘purification’ ritual in Haldwani, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said on Saturday at a special Congress Party Briefing.

He alleged that the incident showed that BJP-RSS people do not want Dalits to rise and succeed.

Gandhi said the purification ritual at Haldwani's Ramlila Maidan after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge visited the venue was a form of untouchability and a crime under the Constitution.

“This act violates the SC/ST Act. Performing a 'purification' ritual is a crime. Yet, no action has been taken,” Gandhi said, demanding immediate registration of an FIR against those who carried out the ritual.

He said the issue was not limited to Kharge and concerned Dalits across the country.

“The more successful a Dalit person becomes, the more forcefully they are attacked. This happens every day with millions of people,” Gandhi said.

Gandhi cited other alleged instances of purification rituals involving Dalit leaders. He said when Rajasthan Congress Legislature Party leader Tikaram Julie visited a temple, BJP leaders performed a purification ritual. He also alleged that a similar ritual was performed when former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi visited a temple.

“These are done by BJP-RSS people, and according to the Constitution of India, this is a crime,” Gandhi said.

Referring specifically to Kharge, Gandhi said he had dedicated his life to the country and the Constitution and questioned the lack of action over the Haldwani incident.

“If such a thing can be done against a senior person like Mallikarjun Kharge, imagine what can be done to a four-year-old in a school?” he said.

Gandhi said the Haldwani incident was “the tip of the iceberg” and that the Congress was raising the issue for Kharge as well as every Dalit person in India.

He also described the incident as part of a broader ideological contest between what he called the Constitution and the ideology of the BJP and RSS.

“A fight is underway in the country between two ideologies,” Gandhi said, referring to the Constitution associated with B R Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel on one side and the BJP-RSS ideology on the other.

Gandhi said caste-based discrimination against Dalits continued despite being outlawed by the Constitution. He alleged that Dalit children in schools are still made to clean toilets and sweep and mop floors.

He also cited alleged discrimination in access to drinking water, saying Dalits in some villages have been barred from using common wells and had to dig private wells. At tea stalls, he alleged, separate cups are sometimes used for Dalits, with disposable paper or plastic cups given to them while others are served in reusable glass cups.

“This is the reality of India,” Gandhi said, adding that such practices could be seen in Uttar Pradesh, North India, cities and villages.

Gandhi also dismissed questions about the BJP's new organisational structure, saying the Congress was not interested in the changes.

“Our fight is one of ideology, a fight to save the Constitution,” he said.