The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday rejected Congress's allegations that a “purification” ritual was conducted at Ramlila Ground in Haldwani after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a public meeting there. The BJP denied having any connection with the reported ritual and accused the Congress of attempting to mislead the Dalit community by portraying the incident as an insult to Kharge. Uttarakhand minister Khajan Das said the BJP had no role in the reported event and rejected allegations linking the party to the ritual.

His response came after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised the incident and described the reported “purification” as an act of untouchability. Gandhi had demanded legal action against those responsible, including registration of a case under provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The controversy centres on an alleged shuddhikaran ritual at the Haldwani venue where Kharge addressed a Congress gathering. Congress has argued that the act was directed at the venue after Kharge, who belongs to the Dalit community, had spoken there.

The allegation has triggered a political confrontation between the Congress and BJP, with both sides offering sharply different interpretations of the incident. Das accused Congress of using the controversy to politically target the BJP and said the party was attempting to create an impression of caste-based discrimination where none existed. He alleged that the Congress was “attempting to mislead” members of the Dalit community. The BJP's position is that the reported ritual cannot be attributed to the party simply because it allegedly took place at a venue following a Congress programme.

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Rahul Gandhi, meanwhile, has maintained that the incident reflects a broader problem of caste discrimination. He has criticised what he described as a mindset that undermines the dignity of Dalits and said the Constitution does not permit practices associated with untouchability. Gandhi has also called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure that those responsible face legal action. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had earlier raised the matter in Parliament, saying the episode had caused him to experience what he described as the “sting of untouchability”.

The Congress has used the incident to question the BJP's commitment to combating caste discrimination, while the BJP has rejected the allegations and sought to distance itself from the reported ritual. The political dispute has now widened beyond the reported incident itself, with the two parties accusing each other of exploiting the issue. Congress is demanding accountability and legal action, while the BJP insists that it had no connection with the ritual and accuses Congress of misleading Dalit voters. The conflicting claims are likely to keep the issue in the political spotlight as both parties seek to shape the narrative around caste, social equality and political representation.

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