Daijiworld Media Network - Haldwani
Haldwani, Aug 31: An FIR has been registered against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi following a complaint by a member of the Valmiki community in Haldwani, who alleged that the Congress leader gave a casteist interpretation to a religious ritual held at the venue of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's programme, police said on Sunday.
The FIR was registered under various 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, 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. He said he was present during the "ritual and cleanliness drive" and alleged that remarks made by Gandhi at a press conference in New Delhi on August 29 hurt the sentiments of the Valmiki community.
Kumar alleged that Gandhi portrayed people associated with the ritual as practising "untouchability" and being "anti-Dalit". He said in his complaint that he himself 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.
According to Kumar, the ritual had no connection with Kharge's caste and Gandhi's remarks wrongly linked the event to caste discrimination.
The controversy erupted after some people allegedly conducted a 'purification yajna' at the Ramlila Ground in Haldwani on August 11, three days after a public meeting addressed by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at the venue on August 8.
The Congress criticised the incident, calling it a reflection of the BJP's alleged anti-Dalit mindset. The BJP, however, defended the ritual, claiming that the venue had been left littered after the Congress rally and that slogans raised there were inappropriate for a religious site.
At a press conference in New Delhi on August 29, Rahul Gandhi criticised the alleged purification ritual and demanded registration of an FIR under the SC/ST Act against those responsible.
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also demanded action over the incident, describing it as a "reprehensible and shameful mindset" and alleging that the episode amounted to a violation of the SC/ST Act.
The registration of the FIR against Rahul Gandhi has now added a fresh political dimension to the dispute, with the controversy centred on allegations of caste discrimination, religious sentiments and the interpretation of the Haldwani ritual.