Congress stages protest over purification ritual after Kharge's address in Uttar Pradesh

Congress workers in Shravasti district staged a protest march on Monday against what they termed the deliberate insult of Dalits and the registration of an FIR against party leader Rahul Gandhi in Haldwani. The march, organised on the directive of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee, proceeded from the district Congress office in Bhinga to Eidgah intersection and drew participation from Congress leaders across various blocks.

The protest centred on allegations that a purification ritual was performed at a venue after Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, a senior Dalit leader, addressed a public meeting there. District Congress president Vidyamani Tripathi condemned the act as reflecting deep-rooted social discrimination and said it was an insult not only to Kharge but to millions of Dalits across the country. He added that when Rahul Gandhi raised his voice against this humiliation and discrimination, an FIR was filed against him, which the party views as an attempt to suppress dissent.

District vice-president Chandra Pal Singh Yadav accused the BJP and RSS of orchestrating the purification ceremony and described it as a deliberate affront to Dalit dignity and self-respect. He urged the people of Uttar Pradesh and the entire nation to respond democratically to what he called a casteist and Manuwadi mindset. Yadav said the coming elections would provide an opportunity for voters to deliver a political purification of BJP and RSS and strengthen the forces of constitutional equality and social justice.

The protest march saw the participation of district general secretary Advocate Aslam, district vice-president Aslam Khan, SC/ST department district president Phoolchand Gautam, state secretary and SC/ST in-charge Bahraich Sheshraj Gautam, minority district president Imran Malik, district vice-president Pankaj Srivastava, and block presidents along with a large number of Congress workers. The party reiterated that insults to Dalits would not be tolerated and vowed to continue the fight for constitutional values, social justice, and equality with full strength.