An FIR has been registered against Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani after a member of the Valmiki community accused him of making caste-related remarks about a religious ritual held at the site of a Congress programme, police said on Sunday. The case was filed following a complaint by Amit Kumar, a resident of Jawahar Nagar and a member of the Shri Ram Sena Dharmarth Seva Nyas.
Police said the FIR invokes provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) relating to promoting enmity between groups and deliberately hurting religious sentiments. Provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act have also been included.
Amit Kumar claimed he was present during the ritual and cleanliness drive at the venue and took exception to Gandhi’s comments at a press conference in Delhi on August 29. According to the complaint, the senior Congress leader’s remarks portrayed those involved in the ritual as practising “untouchability” and being “anti-Dalit”. Kumar, who identifies as a member of the Scheduled Caste community, claimed that people from different sections, including members of Scheduled Castes, had participated in the ritual. He further alleged that the ceremony had “no connection” with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s caste.
The dispute centres on an alleged ‘purification yajna’ conducted at Haldwani’s Ramlila Ground on August 11, three days after Kharge addressed a public meeting at the venue. The Congress accused the BJP of promoting an “anti-Dalit mindset” over the incident. The BJP, however, defended the ritual, alleging that the ground had been left littered following the Congress event and that slogans inappropriate for a religious site had been raised there.
Rahul Gandhi addressed the controversy during a press conference in New Delhi on August 29, demanding an FIR under the SC/ST Act against those responsible for the alleged purification ritual. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also called for action, describing the incident as reflecting a “reprehensible and shameful mindset” and alleging that it amounted to a violation of the SC/ST Act.
