FIR registered against Rahul Gandhi over remarks on Haldwani purification ritual

An FIR has been registered against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after a member of the Valmiki community filed a complaint in Haldwani, alleging that Gandhi gave a caste-based interpretation to a religious ritual held at the venue of an event organised by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, police said on Sunday.

The case has been registered under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) related to promoting enmity between groups and deliberate acts aimed at hurting religious sentiments. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, has also been included in the FIR, police said.

Amit Kumar, a resident of Jawahar Nagar and a member of the Shri Ram Sena Dharmarth Seva Nyas, filed the complaint at the Haldwani police station. Kumar said he was present during the "ritual and cleanliness drive" and alleged that remarks made by Gandhi at a press conference in Delhi on August 29 hurt the sentiments of the community. 

Kumar alleged that Gandhi had described those involved in the ritual as practising "untouchability" and being "anti-Dalit".

In his complaint, Kumar said he belongs to the Scheduled Caste community and claimed that people from different sections of society, including members of Scheduled Castes, had participated in the ritual. He also maintained that the ritual had "no connection" with the caste of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.

The controversy began after some people allegedly carried out a 'purification yajna' at the Ramlila Ground in Haldwani on August 11. The ritual took place three days after Kharge addressed a public meeting at the same venue on August 8.

The Congress criticised the incident, calling it an example of what it described as the BJP's anti-Dalit mindset. The BJP, however, defended the ritual, claiming that the ground had been left littered after Kharge's rally and that slogans considered inappropriate for a religious site had also been raised there.

During a press conference in New Delhi on August 29, Rahul Gandhi criticised the alleged purification ritual and called for an FIR under the SC/ST Act against those responsible for it.

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also demanded action against those involved. She described the incident as reflecting a "reprehensible and shameful mindset" and alleged that the act amounted to a violation of the SC/ST Act.  (with inputs from PTI)