On What Grounds?’: Imran Masood Questions FIR Against Rahul Gandhi in Haldwani Case

Congress MP Imran Masood has questioned the grounds for registering an FIR against Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over his remarks on a ‘purification’ ritual at a rally venue in Haldwani, Uttarakhand.Masood also criticised the invocation of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, saying the law was being treated “like a joke”. His comments came a day after an FIR was registered against Gandhi at Haldwani Kotwali police station.

“On what grounds has an FIR been filed against Rahul Gandhi?” Masood asked, questioning why similar action had not been taken over an earlier controversy involving Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.The FIR was registered on August 30 following a complaint by Amit Kumar, a resident of Jawahar Nagar and a member of the Valmiki community. Police have invoked provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act along with Sections 196 and 299 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).According to the complaint, Kumar alleged that Gandhi had wrongly described a cleaning and havan ritual at Haldwani's Ramlila Ground as an act of untouchability and anti-Dalit discrimination. He said members of different communities, including Scheduled Castes, had participated in the ritual and claimed it had no connection with Kharge's caste.

The controversy began after a Congress public meeting addressed by Kharge at the Ramlila Ground on August 8. A ‘shuddhikaran’ ritual was subsequently held at the venue, with the exact date reported as August 10-11 in different accounts. Congress leaders have alleged that the ritual reflected caste-based discrimination against Kharge, who is a Dalit leader.Rahul Gandhi had himself demanded an FIR under the SC/ST Act against those responsible for the ritual during a press conference on August 29. He described the practice as a form of untouchability and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure legal action.Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also subsequently demanded action against those responsible for the ritual, arguing that the incident should be investigated under the SC/ST Act.The BJP and the organisers of the ritual have rejected the caste-based interpretation. Organisers have said the havan was conducted because the venue had been left dirty after the rally and was intended to restore its sanctity. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has also rejected allegations of discrimination, according to reports.The BJP has separately accused Congress leaders of giving the incident a caste angle. BJP leaders have denied that the ritual was linked to Kharge's caste and have disputed the Congress's account of what happened at the venue.The latest development has therefore widened the political dispute: Congress is questioning the action against Gandhi and demanding accountability over the original ritual, while the complainant and BJP side have challenged the Congress's interpretation and defended the ritual as unrelated to caste. The FIR investigation is now underway.