New Delhi, 30 September (H.S.): The Congress has described the alleged ‘purification ritual’ held at the Ramlila Maidan in Haldwani following a public meeting addressed by Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge as a direct affront to the dignity and self-respect of Dalit and tribal communities across the country.

In protest against the alleged incident, the Congress’s Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (SC-ST) Forum organised a ‘Dalit-Adivasi Swabhiman Meeting’ at the Mavalankar Hall of the Constitution Club in the national capital. The party said the meeting marked the beginning of a nationwide campaign against the incident.

Dr Mallu Ravi, Congress MP from Nagarkurnool in Telangana and a leading figure in the campaign, said more than 1,000 representatives from across the country attended the ‘Dalit-Adivasi Swabhiman Meeting’ at Mavalankar Hall. He said the gathering included serving and former Members of Parliament, legislators and former legislators, ministers from Congress-ruled states, and other senior party leaders.

Ravi said the meeting was being used to draw up the roadmap for the campaign. He added that a major national convention would be organised at Delhi’s Talkatora Stadium in the final week of November, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge expected to attend.

According to Dr Mallu Ravi, SC and ST MPs from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha had met on September 7 to discuss the alleged purification ritual that followed Kharge’s programme in Haldwani. He said the participants unanimously viewed the incident not merely as an insult to Kharge but as an affront to SC and ST communities across the country.

He said that, in protest, around 22 MPs went to the Parliament Street police station on September 8 and sought the registration of a Zero FIR. However, he alleged that the Station House Officer and Assistant Commissioner of Police refused to register the FIR.

Mallu Ravi said the MPs staged a sit-in at the police station for around three and a half hours. Subsequently, he said, the police obtained through WhatsApp a copy of an FIR that had already been registered against unidentified persons at the Haldwani police station, printed it out and showed it to the protesters.

He said the government’s responsibility did not end with the registration of an FIR and that a fair investigation must be conducted and those responsible brought to justice. He further alleged that when Rahul Gandhi raised his voice against the incident, a case was registered against Gandhi instead of action being taken against those responsible.

The Congress MP said the party’s demand was that the FIR registered against Rahul Gandhi be immediately withdrawn and that those responsible for the alleged incident be punished.

Mallu Ravi also said that Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former national president J.P. Nadda, who is the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, had given an assurance in the Upper House that strict action would be taken in the matter. He questioned what action had followed despite the assurance given on the floor of the House.

Mallu Ravi maintained that the incident should not be viewed as a personal attack on Mallikarjun Kharge, but as an act that, in the Congress’s view, had caused offence to Dalit and tribal communities across the country.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar