Chandigarh : Punjab and Haryana Congress leaders on Tuesday staged a protest in Chandigarh against the FIR registered against Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, over the Haldwani 'purification' controversy.
Senior Congress leaders, including Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Punjab Congress working president Raj Kumar Verka, joined the protest. Several leaders were detained by police.
Uttarakhand's Haldwani City Kotwali Police has registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Rahul Gandhi following a complaint regarding his remarks about a "purification ritual" in Haldwani, alleging that he hurt the sentiments of a person belonging to the Scheduled Caste.
Verka said, "This is the ugly face of the BJP. And the way Dalits are being lathi-charged. This fight will continue." Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that instead, the FIR should have been registered against those who held the purification ritual after party president Mallikarjun Kharge's rally in Haldwani.
"Rahul Gandhi had stated that an FIR should be registered against those who performed a 'purification' ritual following Mallikarjun Kharge's rally in Haldwani; however, no FIR was filed against them, yet an FIR was registered against Rahul Gandhi... This is wrong. It demonstrates that this party (BJP) and its leaders are anti-Dalit. There is outrage across the country over this issue today," Hooda said.
Congress MLA Geeta Bhukkal told News Agency, "A very unfortunate situation has arisen in the country. Our National President Mallikarjun Kharge, who hails from the Dalit community, addressed a Congress rally in Haldwani. Following that, BJP members carried out a 'purification' ritual there. Has raising the voices of Dalits, the poor, and the youth become a crime in this country? If anyone is effectively playing the role of the Opposition today, it is Rahul Gandhi."
Speaking to News Agency in Delhi, Congress leader Harish Rawat called it a case of 'ulta chor kotwal ko dante' (the pot calling the kettle black).
Rawat said, "This is not just an FIR; it is an attack on freedom of expression. It is an attack on the Constitution of India and on the SC/ST Act. Rahul Gandhi merely reiterated what our Constitution and the SC/ST Act state, yet it is a classic case of 'ulta chor kotwal ko dante.' In fact, the FIR should have been lodged against those who sought to 'purify' the mindset of the perpetrators."
The complaint was filed by 26-year-old Amit Kumar, a resident of Jawahar Nagar Colony, Haldwani, and a member of the Valmiki community. Kumar serves as an office-bearer of the Shri Ram Sena Dharmarth Seva Nyas organisation.
Police have invoked provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 -- Section 3(1)(r) and Section 3(1)(u) -- along with Section 196 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, which deals with promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc. Section 199 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, pertaining to jurisdiction, has also been cited in the FIR.
Amit Kumar alleged that Rahul Gandhi's remarks during a press conference hurt the sentiments of the Scheduled Caste community.