Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi order an FIR against those who performed 'shuddhikaran' (purification) at the Haldwani venue where party chief Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a rally, saying it was a crime under the Constitution.
Addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi, the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha said the act amounted to untouchability, blamed the "BJP-RSS mindset" for it and demanded that those responsible be booked under the SC/ST Act. He also alleged that no action had been taken even 20 days after the incident.
"The incident reflects the mindset of the BJP-RSS people who continue to practice untouchability, and they do not want Dalits to progress and live with respect and be successful," Gandhi said.
"We are demanding justice for the Congress president... It is the duty of the central and state governments to ensure that Kharge gets justice," he added.
The former Congress chief alleged that Uttarakhand BJP president Mahendra Bhatt had defended the purification and the prime minister had remained silent.
"We demand that an FIR be lodged against those who have done this. PM Modi states that he belongs to every caste and is the prime minister of the country, but his party chief of Uttarakhand defends 'shuddhikaran'," Gandhi said.
He alleged that the purification was carried out by BJP-RSS workers on August 10, two days after Kharge's rally in the Uttarakhand city, and said Kharge raised the issue in Parliament on August 13.
Gandhi said there was a fight between two ideologies -- one that follows the Constitution given by the likes of BR Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and the other represented by the BJP-RSS combine.
"For thousands of years, violence was perpetrated against Dalits, and even today Dalit children are made to clean toilets in schools. This is the reality of the country," Gandhi said.
Citing the examples of Kharge, the party's Rajasthan leader Tikaram Jully and NDA minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who have reportedly faced purification incidents at different times, Gandhi said the more successful the Dalit person is, the fiercer the attack on them becomes.
"This is another name for untouchability. The BJP people practice untouchability. When they do shuddhikaran, they say that Dalits cannot touch them as they are impure," Gandhi said.
He said the incident showed that untouchability and discrimination against Dalits continued in the country.
"If it can happen with our president, if it can happen with such a senior person without any hesitation, imagine what would be happening with a four-year-old kid in a school," he said.
Gandhi said the Congress would ensure that those responsible faced action.
"Justice will be done for sure," he said.
Noting that the ball was in the BJP's court, he said, "If they take action, very good. If they don't take action, then there will be some reaction. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. These days, what is happening, action has a much bigger reaction".
"We will ensure action is taken against the culprits. Even if the BJP fails to act, the entire Congress party will not let them escape... I guarantee it," he said.
Gandhi said what happened with Kharge was just the tip of the iceberg, as such practices are still prevalent in India.
"Dalits are not allowed to drink water from common village wells. In tea shops, there are two cups -- paper ones for Dalits and glass ones for others. In a barat, a Dalit groom wears a helmet as he could be beaten up for riding a mare," Gandhi said.
Asked about reports that Kharge expressed displeasure at a CWC meeting over Congress leaders not supporting him, Gandhi said the party chief had referred to "certain people" who did not support him.
"He did not in any way say that a vast majority of Congress people didn't support him. I supported him and a whole number of Congress people supported him. He was pointing to a set of people whom he felt did not support him," Gandhi said.
He added that the issue was not concerning Kharge alone but every Dalit person in the country.
Later, in a post on X, Gandhi said, "Every Dalit individual in the country faces humiliation from birth to death, everywhere, at every step. The louder their voice rises, the fiercer the attack on them becomes."
"Whatever happened to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge ji in Haldwani is untouchability against him, disguised as 'purification' - and untouchability is a punishable offence under the Indian Constitution," he said.
Twenty days have passed since then, but no action has been taken yet, and no FIR has been filed, he said.
"Narendra Modi ji, your anti-Dalit ideology is clearly visible to every Dalit individual in the country. Now the ball is in the BJP's court -- an FIR must be filed under the SC-ST Act at the earliest, action must be taken, and justice must be served -- otherwise, the Congress Party knows very well how to secure justice," Gandhi said.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh later also said it would not be surprising if the BJP's double-engine government in Uttarakhand honours or rewards in some way those who have displayed the anti-Dalit hatred toward Kharge.
"Such audacity only comes when there's backing from the top. Otherwise, what's the reason for such incidents to recur repeatedly in BJP-ruled states? At the core of the BJP-RSS ideology lies hatred toward Dalits. No matter how much of a mask they wear, this mindset keeps surfacing time and again," he said.
"And as for expecting even a single word from the Prime Minister -- who has spent his time building and protecting his false prestige -- against this attack on the dignity of such a senior Dalit leader of the country, that's out of the question. On the contrary, those who spread such hatred and untouchability often draw inspiration and encouragement from precisely such quarters," Ramesh said.
(With inputs from PTI)