Congress protests FIR against Rahul Gandhi over ‘purification’ ritual remarks.

Members and leaders of the Kalaburagi district unit of the Congress stage a protest against the FIR registered against Rahul Gandhi in Kalaburagi on Tuesday. | Photo credit: ARUN KULKARNI

Members and leaders of the Kalaburagi District Congress Committee here on Tuesday staged a protest against the FIR registered against Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over his remarks on an alleged “purification” ritual held after AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a Congress rally in Haldwani, Uttarakhand on 8.

Congress workers gathered outside the Mini Vidhana Soudha and burnt tires during the protest. They alleged that the ritual performed at the site after Mr. Kharge’s speech was tantamount to untouchability and challenged the registration of a case against Mr. Gandhi for raising the issue.

Congress officials said Mr Gandhi sought action against those responsible for the alleged ritual to highlight the discrimination and untouchability faced by Dalits. The issue was raised to highlight the treatment of a senior Dalit leader and to ask what would be the misery of ordinary Dalits in the villages if such incidents were allowed to continue.

Congress agitating workers questioned the registration of an FIR against Mr. Gandhi instead of taking action against those who allegedly performed the ritual and warned that the party would launch a nationwide protest if the FIR was not withdrawn and action was taken against those responsible for performing the purification ritual.

Mr Gandhi had earlier demanded action under the SC/ST Act against those who allegedly performed the ritual, describing it as a display of untouchability. The Haldwani Kotwali town police registered an FIR on August 30 based on a complaint by Amit Kumar, a resident of Haldwani and an official of Shri Ram Sena Dharmartha Seva Nyas. He alleged that Mr. Gandhi’s remarks had hurt the sentiments of the Scheduled Caste community.

MLAs MY Patil and BR Patil, MLC Jagdev Guttedar, Kalaburagi Urban Development Authority Chairman Mazhar Alam Khan, Gescom Chairman Praveen Harwal, Kiran Deshmukh and Renuka Singhe were among those present.

Published – 01 Sep 2026 22:47 IST