BJP’s ‘caste nature’ exposed by Haldwani’s ritual defence, says Congress

The alleged purge was carried out at Ramlila Maidan in Haldwani after Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a rally there on August 8. Photo credit: PTI

The party on Thursday (August 27, 2026) accused BJP’s Uttarakhand unit president Mahendra Bhatt of advocating an alleged purification ritual performed at a site in Haldwani after he addressed a Mallikarjun Kharge rally there on whether the ruling BJP would act against him for “defending untouchability”.

Mr Bhatt said the site had been “polluted” with slogans that were not appropriate for a religious site, rejecting opposition criticism of the ritual.

Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal said the remarks showed that Union Minister JP Nadda’s expression of regret in the Rajya Sabha over the incident was “mere eyewash”.

“It was evident from day 1 that Union Minister JP Nadda’s deplorable statement in the Rajya Sabha was just an eye wash. If Mr. Nadda really meant that BJP does not condone such acts, how can BJP Uttarakhand’s own chief defend the so-called ‘shuddhikaran’ done by their workers after the Kharge ji event?” Mr. Venugopal said in a post on X.

“The true caste nature of BJP keeps rearing its ugly head, no matter how hard their leaders try to hide it. If there is even an iota of truth to Mr. Nadda’s statement in Parliament, they must sack Mr. Mahendra Bhatt and take strict punitive action against those who insulted Kharge ji,” he said.

Sharing a video of Mr Bhatt’s remarks, Congress media and publicity chief Pawan Khera said the BJP Uttarakhand unit chief had “justified” the purification ritual.

“It doesn’t matter that Nadda ji described the shuddhikaran in Haldwani after the Kharge ji rally as ‘unfortunate’. The truth is that discrimination runs through the veins of the RSS-BJP like blood,” Mr Khera said.

A dehumanizing practice

“In the 21st century, Dalits are still subjected to such dehumanizing practices. That in itself is a tragedy. But if this can happen to the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and one of the top Dalit leaders in the country, (it) makes it clear how much worse the daily reality must be for ordinary Dalits,” he said.

The Congress leader asked if Prime Minister Narendra Modi would take action against Mr Bhatt. “Now that its own state president has openly defended untouchability, will the party act against him? Will Modi remove him? If not, then Modi’s grand calls for unity and respect for Dalits is nothing but another political stunt,” Mr Khera said.

The alleged purge was carried out at Ramlila Maidan in Haldwani after Mr. Kharge addressed a rally there on August 8. The Congress in Uttarakhand claimed that Shri Ram Sena, who performed the ritual, was affiliated with the BJP, which the BJP denied.

Mr. Kharge raised the issue in the Rajya Sabha and demanded cases under the Untouchability Act and the arrest of those involved. Mr. Nadda said that the BJP did not subscribe to such practices and that the incident would be investigated.

The Congress chief also spoke about it in the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and expressed his concern that the party has not done enough to condemn it. Subsequently, the CWC condemned the incident and General Secretary Jairam Ramesh demanded an apology from Mr. Modi.

Published – 28 Aug 2026 0:56 IST