An FIR was registered after a Valmiki community member alleged that Rahul Gandhi gave a caste angle to the ritual conducted at the Haldwani venue
An FIR has been registered against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over alleged casteist remarks made in connection with a controversial purification ritual at a venue in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, police said.
The case followed a complaint by Amit Kumar, a member of the Valmiki community and Shri Ram Sena Dharmarth Seva Nyas, who alleged that Gandhi gave a caste-based interpretation to the ritual and hurt the sentiments of the community.
FIR filed under BNS, SC/ST Act provisions
According to police, the FIR invokes provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) relating to promoting enmity between groups and deliberate acts intended to outrage religious feelings.
Provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 have also been invoked in the case.
In his complaint, Kumar said he was present during what he described as a ritual and cleanliness drive at the venue. He alleged that Gandhi’s comments at a press conference in Delhi on August 29 hurt the sentiments of the Valmiki community.
Kumar further alleged that Gandhi portrayed those associated with the ritual as practising untouchability and being anti-Dalit. He also claimed that members of different sections of society, including people from Scheduled Castes, participated in the ritual and that it had no connection with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s caste.
What sparked the Haldwani controversy?
The controversy erupted after a group of people allegedly conducted a ‘purification yajna’ at Ramlila Ground in Haldwani on August 11, three days after a public meeting addressed by Kharge at the same venue on August 8.
The Congress accused the BJP of promoting an anti-Dalit mindset over the incident.
The BJP, however, rejected the caste-based interpretation and defended the ritual. The party said the venue had been left littered following Kharge’s rally and claimed that slogans raised there were inappropriate for a religious site.
The incident subsequently triggered a political confrontation between the Congress and BJP, with both sides accusing the other of misrepresenting the circumstances surrounding the ritual.
BJP and Congress trade accusations
The FIR has now added a fresh legal dimension to the political dispute.
The complainant has maintained that the ritual was not linked to Kharge’s caste and that Gandhi’s remarks wrongly portrayed the participants as casteist. The Congress, meanwhile, has continued to describe the original incident as an example of discrimination against Dalits.
The competing claims are likely to keep the issue politically charged as police proceed with the case against Gandhi.
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