Congress chief urges BJP leader to file FIR over Haldwani purification incident
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to Union minister JP Nadda asking why no FIR has been lodged after a purification ritual at a Haldwani venue following his rally.
On Thursday, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a letter to Union minister and Rajya Sabha Leader JP Nadda, pressing for an FIR in the Haldwani "purification" case. Kharge reminded Nadda of his parliamentary assurance to tackle the matter after a ritual was performed at Ram Leela Maidan following Kharge's August 8 rally. Despite 24 days elapsing, no FIR has been filed against the individuals or groups he alleges were responsible.
The Congress chief, who belongs to the Dalit community, described the incident as a communal insult and called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene. He also asked Nadda to instruct Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Dhami to ensure a report is lodged. Dhami and the ritual's organizers have rejected claims that the ceremony targeted Kharge, stating that religious slogans were chanted and participants voluntarily conducted the rite. The controversy emerges ahead of Uttarakhand's early assembly elections, where the BJP seeks a third term and the Congress hopes to regain power after a decade out of office.
Why it matters
The demand for a police report highlights communal tensions and political pressure ahead of upcoming state elections.
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