Congress announces Delhi meeting over Haldwani purification ritual

The Congress’s SC/ST Parliamentarians Forum will hold a Dalit-Adivasi Self-Respect Meeting in Delhi on September 29 over a reported purification ritual conducted at a Haldwani venue after party president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a rally there. Congress MP Mallu Ravi announced the meeting at a press conference on Sunday. He said the incident reflected the mindset of the Uttarakhand and Union governments and criticised the Uttarakhand government’s initial refusal to register a first information report.

Mr. Ravi said the FIR was registered after protests by the Congress. He also alleged that the Prime Minister, Union Home Minister and Uttarakhand Chief Minister had not condemned the incident.

Congress leader Manoj Kumar described the Narendra Modi government as “anti-Dalit” and “anti-tribal” and claimed that atrocities against Dalits and tribal people had increased. These were political allegations made by the Congress. The forum said the Delhi meeting would discuss incidents of discrimination and violence against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

It said such incidents violated the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The forum also called on public representatives from these communities to unite against discrimination and social prejudice in legislatures and public forums. The controversy followed an alleged “purification yajna” at Haldwani’s Ramlila Ground on August 11, three days after Mr.

Kharge addressed a public meeting there on August 8. The supplied material does not provide details of any arrests, investigation findings or response from the Uttarakhand or Union governments.