Cong stages march to Secretariat in Doon, Godiyal detained and Harak Singh Rawat falls ill

Haldwani purification row

By Arun Pratap Singh
my uttarakhand news Bureau 

Dehradun, 1 Sep: Congress appears determined to make a huge political issue out of the alleged purification (called as Shuddhikaran) incident at Ramleela Maidan in Haldwani following Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s rally there on 8 August. Sources claim that while the local party leaders in Uttarakhand are not in favour of turning this incident into a major political issue as they feel it would have little impact on Uttarakhand politics ahead of state assembly elections, the party high command has directed the state unit to keep the issue alive. As a result, the political controversy over the alleged ‘purification’ of the Ramlila Maidan in Haldwani after a public meeting addressed by Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge on August 8 intensified today, with the Uttarakhand Congress staging a major protest in Dehradun and marching towards the Secretariat. The protest was led by Pradesh Congress Committee president Ganesh Godiyal, with a large number of party leaders and workers participating. The Congress has demanded action against those responsible for the alleged purification ritual and the party has also strongly objected to the FIR registered against senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in connection with his remarks on the controversy.

The protesters started their march from Congress Bhawan and proceeded towards the Secretariat. However, the police stopped them on Subhash Road, ahead of the Secretariat, by putting up double-layer barricading. As the protesters attempted to cross the barricades, a heated confrontation and pushing and shoving took place between the police and Congress workers. Godiyal, Leader of the Opposition Yashpal Arya and several senior party leaders including Pritam Singh climbed over the barricades and raised slogans against the BJP, demanding action against those who had organised the alleged purification ceremony. After the standoff continued for some time, the police detained several Congress leaders and workers, including Godiyal, and took them to the police lines.

The protest also witnessed a health scare involving former Cabinet minister and senior Congress leader Harak Singh Rawat. During the confrontation near the barricades, Rawat reportedly sustained an injury to his leg while attempting to cross the police barricading. Shortly afterwards, he complained of breathlessness and anxiety and his condition ‘deteriorated’. He was subsequently taken to the emergency department of Government Doon Medical College Hospital in a police vehicle. Doctors conducted his medical examination, including an ECG and other necessary investigations. Medical Superintendent of Doon Medical College Hospital Dr RS Bisht said after examination that Rawat’s condition was normal and stable. He has been however kept under observation and his condition was stated to be out of danger.

The Congress maintained that the protest was against what it described as the insult of its national president and the alleged caste-based discrimination reflected in the purification of the venue after Kharge’s public meeting. Yashpal Arya said the party would not remain silent over the matter and would continue its democratic agitation until appropriate action was taken and those responsible were punished.

Godiyal accused the BJP governments at the Centre and in Uttarakhand of promoting social and caste divisions for political gains. He said incidents that hurt the dignity of poor, Dalit and deprived sections of society could not be accepted and asserted that Congress workers were prepared to fight such a mindset through legal, ideological, political and social means under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi.

Godiyal also questioned statements made by BJP state president Mahendra Bhatt in support of the purification ceremony. Bhatt had defended the ritual, with the organisers maintaining that the havan was conducted because of alleged dirt left on the stage after the Congress rally and denying that it had anything to do with Kharge’s caste. The BJP has also distanced itself from the organisation that conducted the ritual, while the controversy has continued to intensify politically.

The Congress president’s rally at Haldwani on August 8 was followed three days later by a ‘shuddhikaran’ Hawan at the Ramlila Maidan, triggering a political controversy. Congress leaders alleged that the act amounted to an insult to Kharge, who belongs to the Scheduled Caste community, and accused the BJP and its affiliated organisations of promoting caste prejudice. The organisers, have however, rejected the caste angle and claimed that the ritual was conducted because of the condition of the venue after the rally.

The controversy escalated further after an FIR was registered against Rahul Gandhi in Haldwani following a complaint alleging that he had made unsubstantiated statements and given a caste angle to the incident. The Congress has described the FIR as politically motivated and has demanded that cases also be registered against those responsible for the alleged purification ceremony. The party has launched protests in Uttarakhand and other parts of the country over the issue.

The Congress had earlier submitted written complaints at different police stations in Dehradun, including Raipur and Nehru Colony, besides approaching senior police officials, seeking an impartial investigation and registration of a case against those responsible for the alleged purification. On August 31, Congress leaders and workers also approached the Kotwali and reiterated their demand for strict action. The party has now warned that its democratic agitation will continue until action is taken on its complaint.

Besides Godiyal, Yashpal Arya and Harak Singh Rawat, the protest was attended by Congress campaign committee chairman Pritam Singh, MLAs Mamta Rakesh, Ravi Bahadur and Lakhpat Singh Butola and a large number of party workers. With the 2027 Assembly elections approaching, the Haldwani controversy has emerged as a fresh flashpoint between the Congress and BJP in Uttarakhand, with both sides sharply divided over the circumstances and intent behind the alleged purification ritual.