FIR registered against Rahul Gandhi over Haldwani 'purification' remarks

The Uttarakhand police on Sunday (August 30, 2026) registered an FIR against Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over his remarks on a "purification" ritual conducted at Haldwani’s Ramlila ground, following a Scheduled Caste complainant alleging that the comments hurt his sentiments.

The FIR was registered at Haldwani Kotwali on a complaint by Vinod Kumar Arya and Amit Kumar, who are associated with the Shri Ram Sena Dharmarth Seva Nyas. Mr. Kumar is also a member of the Scheduled Caste community.

“The complainant alleged that remarks made by Rahul Gandhi at a Delhi press conference on August 29 about the purification ritual held at Ramlila Maidan on August 11 referred to untouchability and the Scheduled Caste community and were based on false and incomplete facts,” said Nainital SSP Manjunath T.C.

Following the allegations, Mr. Gandhi has been booked under Sections 196 and 299 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 3(1)(q) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

Congress vice-president Suryakant Dhasmana questioned the police action against Mr. Gandhi, saying BJP and RSS-linked supporters had conducted the “purification” of the venue, sprinkled Gangajal and described the exercise as an attempt to purify the ground where Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had spoken.

“We have been demanding that an FIR be lodged against the organisers of the ritual since the day this controversy came to light, but nothing was done. Now, one person has come and made some baseless allegations, and an FIR has been filed immediately,” he added.

Leader of the Opposition in Uttarakhand Pritam Singh also went to the police station to lodge an FIR in the matter but was turned away, with the police stating that two FIR’s could not be registered in the same matter.

“The Uttarakhand police file three-four FIRs in one matter when it wants to,” said Mr. Singh.

The controversy began after Mr. Kharge addressed a rally at the Haldwani Ramlila ground on August 8. On August 11, members of the Shri Ram Sena Dharmarth Seva Nyas Sangathan conducted a ‘shuddhikaran yagna’ (purification yagna) at the venue.

The organisers have denied that the ceremony was directed at Mr. Kharge or had any caste motive. Amit Kumar said the group had undertaken a cleanliness drive and purification ceremony because the venue was left littered after the rally.

The Congress, however, described the ritual as an insult to its party president, who belongs to the Dalit community, and accused the BJP and its affiliates of promoting caste discrimination. The party has held protests across Uttarakhand over the issue.

Mr. Kharge also raised the matter in the Rajya Sabha, demanding that cases be registered under laws dealing with untouchability against those who carried out the purification ceremony and calling for their arrest and imprisonment.

Last week, BJP State president Mahendra Bhatt once again stoked the controversy by supporting the ritual and alleging that the same was done as ‘slogans’ were raised at the venue, which had polluted the place associated with Lord Ram.

Rahul Gandhi / politics (general) / Indian National Congress