‘Purification’ is another name for untouchability

‘Purification’ of Kharge Ji’s rally venue by BJP workers in Uttarakhand a crime: Leader of Opposition Shri Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi: Addressing a special press conference at the Congress headquarters at Indira Bhawan, New Delhi on August 29, 2026, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Shri Rahul Gandhi asserted that the Congress was demanding justice for its President. At the same time, he made it categorically clear that justice would be done in any case, whether today or tomorrow. “Justice will be done for sure”, he said. He noted that if this can happen to someone like Mr Kharge, who is the President of the Congress and who has spent his entire life in public service, what would be the plight of a common Dalit in a village.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Shri Rahul Gandhi demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Uttarakhand government order the registration of an FIR and action against all those who performed ‘shuddhi-karan’ (purification) of the venue where Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge had addressed a rally on August 8. He further said, ‘shuddhi-karan’ is just another name for “untouchability”, which, according to the Constitution of India, is a crime. He demanded that all those responsible should be booked under the SC/ST Act.

Observing that this was not an isolated incident, Shri Rahul Gandhi said that similar shuddhi-karan was done in Rajasthan after the Congress Legislature Party leader, who is a Dalit, had visited a temple. He said that former Bihar Chief Minister Shri Jitan Ram Manjhi faced similar treatment when he visited a temple, which was purified later.

Shri Rahul Gandhi said that the BJP and the RSS were responsible for perpetuating such practices and cited Uttarakhand BJP President Mahendra Bhatt’s defence and justification of the ‘shuddhi-karan’ as evidence of this mindset.

Narrating the sequence of events, Shri Rahul Gandhi said that Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge addressed the rally on August 8, and on August 10, BJP and the RSS workers performed the ‘shuddhi-karan.’ Kharge Ji subsequently raised the matter in Parliament on August 13. Shri Gandhi said that 20 days have passed since the incident, but no action has been taken, while the state BJP President has instead justified it.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said that this is an ongoing and continuous fight between two ideologies - one represented by the RSS and the BJP, which practises illegal and unlawful acts like ‘shuddhi-karan’, and the other represented by the Congress, which believes in the Constitution of India.

Asserting that an FIR must be registered immediately, Shri Rahul Gandhi said, “We are not demanding anything impossible. A crime against the Constitution has been committed. We are demanding justice for the Congress President. And it is the duty of the Uttarakhand and Central governments to ensure that Congress President gets justice.”

He said that what happened with Kharge Ji is just the tip of the iceberg, as such practices are still prevalent in India. He said that Dalits are not allowed to draw water from the common village wells. He said that at several places, there is segregation of cups at the tea stalls with separate cups for Dalits, while in some places Dalit grooms have to wear helmets to protect themselves from being stoned for riding a horse.

“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 asked. “We want that our President gets justice. The ball is in their court. If they take action, good. If they don’t take it, then there will be some reaction. These days, inaction has a much bigger reaction”, he said, adding, “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.”