Congress steps up attack on BJP after FIR against Rahul Gandhi over ‘purification’ row

A political row erupted after a group performed shuddhikaran on August 11, three days after the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed the rally in Haldwani. File | Photo Credit: PTI After the Uttarakhand Police registered a case against Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over his remarks on the ‘purification’ ceremony which ‘insulted’ Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, the party on Sunday (August 30, 2026) said it “exposed BJP’s casteist mindset”.Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal announced that party workers across the country would take to the streets on Monday (August 31) evening to demand “prosecution of the BJP leaders who insulted Kharge ji and to defend our Constitution against the BJP’s assault on its values of social justice”.The party described the first information report (FIR) against Mr. Gandhi, registered on Sunday, as an attempt to divert attention from the allegations of caste discrimination and suppress the voices demanding action against those involved in the purported “shuddhikaran” (purification) ceremony at the venue of Mr. Kharge’s public meeting in Haldwani in Uttarakhand.A political row erupted after a group performed shuddhikaran on August 11, three days after the Congress president addressed the rally.‘BJP deployed the entire might of the State’“What is worse is that the BJP jumped in to defend this abhorrently casteist behaviour, showing to the entire world that they are the biggest perpetrators of social injustice today,” Mr. Venugopal said.He alleged that the BJP was willing to deploy the “entire might of the State” against those who spoke out against atrocities committed against Dalits.“What the BJP has done is to attack the values of social justice enshrined in the Constitution, and the Congress will fight against this attack tooth and nail,” he said, adding, “We will not rest until the true culprits of the insult to Kharge ji are punished, and this frivolous FIR against Rahul ji is thrown in the dustbin”.Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said Mr. Gandhi had raised the issues of injustice, humiliation and discrimination faced by Dalits, and alleged that the BJP-RSS had “proved him right” within 24 hours.“This is the very mindset against which Babasaheb’s Constitution stands as the greatest wall,” Mr. Ramesh said, alleging that the BJP was seeking to divert attention and suppress dissent.“Action must be taken against those who committed untouchability and humiliation against Kharge ji in the name of ‘purification’. Nothing less than justice will do,” he said.‘Why no FIR over purification?’Congress general secretary in charge of Uttarakhand Kumari Selja questioned why no FIR had been registered against those who allegedly conducted the ritual.“No action against those who conducted the ‘purification’ ritual after Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge ji’s public meeting, but an FIR against Leader of Opposition Shri Rahul Gandhi ji for raising his voice against that casteist act. Is this the justice of the BJP government?” she asked.The Congress’s Scheduled Castes department chairman Rajendra Pal Gautam alleged that the incident amounted to a violation of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and questioned the police’s failure to act against those allegedly responsible.Even Kharge hates Rahul: BJPMeanwhile, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said at a press conference: “There has never been, nor will there ever be, a leader in India more irresponsible and more anti-Dalit and anti-backward classes than Rahul Gandhi. He should introspect.”The BJP leader said that after Mr. Kharge alleged that he had been insulted, Mr. Gandhi did not take notice of it for three weeks. “Rahul Gandhi has time to travel around the world. However, when someone from the Dalit or backward community makes an allegation, he himself does not take it seriously,” he said.“It would not be wrong to say that, deep down, even Mallikarjun Kharge ji hates Rahul Gandhi. He knows it well that he will not get any respect in the Congress party as he does not belong to the Gandhi family,” alleged Mr. Bhatia. Published - August 31, 2026 08:15 pm IST