The politics over the ‘purification’ of a Haldwani ground following a rally addressed there by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge intensified on Tuesday when the state BJP performed yet another ritual. This time, the “intellect cleansing” of Rahul Gandhi and his fellow partymen. The “buddhi shuddhi yagna” for the Leader of Opposition was held at a temple in Dehradun.
“We have given complaints to the police in all 19 organisational districts. Rahul Gandhi and Kharge ji have made Haldwani shuddhikaran programme a major issue despite knowing that a Valmiki community person had participated in that programme. They are spreading lies,” said BJP Scheduled Caste (SC) wing’s state president Balbir Ghuniyal. The yagna on Tuesday was performed in the hope that Gandhi and other Congress leaders “attain wisdom and stop spreading lies”, he said.
An FIR was lodged against Gandhi in Haldwani following a complaint by Amit Kumar, a local who claimed to belong to the Valmiki community. In his complaint, Kumar said the “cleanliness drive and religious ritual” by him and other SC community members at the Ram Lila ground, Haldwani, on August 11 had no connection with any individual or caste.
“Despite that, Rahul Gandhi, in a press conference on August 29, without any verification, called it an act related to ‘chhuachhut (untouchability)’ and a crime against Scheduled Castes, and demanded an FIR against those who participated in that ritual,” Kumar’s complaint read.
Gandhi had, in his New Delhi press conference, called the “purification” a “crime” that illustrated the “untouchability” Dalits face across the country and one which exposed the “BJP-RSS mindset”.
Complaints pour in
The BJP on Monday evening submitted several police complaints against Gandhi. In one such letter submitted at the Roorkee police station, the complainant, BJP SC wing district president Neetu Singh Mandawar, alleged that Gandhi, in his public statements, had linked Haldwani’s “shuddhikaran (purification) programme with the caste of Kharge and the Dalit community.
“The persons associated with the programme have denied any caste bias, and there is information that SC community persons, too, participated in it. Hence, this is a serious matter to investigate on what basis Rahul Gandhi publicly presented the incident as caste-based discrimination and an insult to Dalit community,” her complaint read.
The BJP has also appealed for the examination of Gandhi’s public statements, videos, press conference and social media content, and to record the statements of all those present and lodge an FIR if elements of any cognisable offence are found. “It is not a demand for action because of political differences. The objective is fair inquiry of the facts to ensure that community names, especially Scheduled Castes, are not used for baseless political narrative and creating social enmity,” the BJP leaders said in all the complaints.
With the complaints, the party has also submitted the video recordings of press conferences and photographs. However, a senior official in Uttarakhand police headquarters said that no fresh FIR was lodged against Gandhi on BJP’s complaints so far.
In response, Uttarakhand Congress general secretary Amarjeet Singh said that the party on September 7 will organise a march to the chief minister’s residence with a demand seeking FIR registration against those who performed a purification ritual at Haldwani ground and to protest the FIR against Gandhi.
For these same demands, senior Congress leader and former CM Harish Rawat on Tuesday observed a vow of silence at a Ravidas temple in New Delhi. Congress leaders in Haldwani also protested outside the local police station.
