The Congress announced “massive protest marches” on Monday evening over a first information report (FIR) registered against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Uttarakhand, intensifying the political battle over some people “purifying” the Ramlila ground at Haldwani after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a public meeting there.
He said party units should ensure the maximum mobilisation and media dissemination “to send an unyielding message: the Indian National Congress will not be intimidated by state-sponsored witch-hunts and will fight relentlessly for social justice, constitutional equality, and the dignity of every citizen.”
In a post on X, Surjewala said, ”By registering an FIR against Shri Rahul Gandhi, the cowardly BJP government has revealed its true face. The Leader of the Opposition in the country and Congress President, Shri Mallikarjun Kharge ji, has publicly stated both inside and outside Parliament how the incident of purifying the stage after his speech deeply hurt his sentiments. Meanwhile, from CM Dhami to the BJP National General Secretary, they are all dispensing wisdom on the justification of this incident. But this did not sit well with the BJP-RSS’s double-engine government in Uttarakhand.
The FIR was registered by the Haldwani police on Sunday, a day after Gandhi addressed a press conference in New Delhi to demand that Prime Minister Narendra Modi order an FIR against those involved in the “purification” of the Ramlila ground at Haldwani. “He highlighted the issue of untouchability and humiliation carried out in the name of “purification” after the rally of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge Ji in Uttarakhand, and demanded action against the BJP workers involved in it. That’s why, even today, no action has been taken against the accused, but an FIR was filed against Rahul Gandhi Ji, who is demanding justice, the very next day,” said Jairam Ramesh.
The FIR, registered on a complaint by Amit Kumar, a member of Shri Ram Sena Dharmarth Seva Nyas, accused Gandhi of offences under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and sections 196 (promoting enmity between classes) and 299 (malicious acts to outrage religious feelings) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said the FIR against Rahul Gandhi was a “shameless weaponisation of the state machinery” to target the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The FIR said Gandhi wrongly described the cleaning and havan ritual as an act of “untouchability” and an atrocity against the Scheduled Caste community without verifying the facts.
