BJP’s ‘casteist nature’ exposed by Haldwani ritual defence, says Congress

Accusing BJP’s Uttarakhand unit president Mahendra Bhatt of defending the alleged purification ritual conducted at a venue in Haldwani after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a rally there, the party on Thursday (August 27, 2026) asked whether the ruling BJP would act against him for “defending untouchability”.

Mr. Bhatt had said the venue had been “polluted” by slogans that were not appropriate for a religious place, dismissing the Opposition’s criticism of the ritual.

Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal said the remarks showed that Union Minister J.P. Nadda’s expression of regret in the Rajya Sabha over the incident was “a mere eyewash”.

“It was evident from Day 1 that Union Minister J.P. Nadda’s statement of regret in the Rajya Sabha was a mere eyewash. If Mr. Nadda truly meant that the BJP doesn’t subscribe to such acts, how is the BJP’s own Uttarakhand chief is defending the so-called ‘shuddhikaran’ that their workers did after Kharge ji’s event?” Mr. Venugopal said in a post on X.

“The BJP’s true casteist nature keeps rearing its ugly head, no matter how much cover-up their leaders attempt. If there is even an iota of truth in Mr. Nadda’s statement in Parliament, they must sack Mr. Mahendra Bhatt and take strict criminal action against those who insulted Kharge ji,” he said.

Congress media and publicity department head Pawan Khera, while sharing a video of Mr. Bhatt’s remarks, said the BJP’s Uttarakhand unit chief had “justified” the purification ritual.

“It does not matter that Nadda ji described the shuddhikaran in Haldwani after Kharge ji’s rally as ‘unfortunate’. The truth is that discrimination flows through the veins of the RSS-BJP like blood,” Mr. Khera said.

Dehumanising practice

“In the 21st century, Dalits are still subjected to such dehumanising practices. That itself is a tragedy. But if this can happen to the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and one of the tallest Dalit leaders in the country, (it) elucidates how far worse the everyday reality must be for ordinary Dalits,” he said.

The Congress leader asked whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi would act against Mr. Bhatt. “Now that its own State president has openly defended untouchability, will the party act against him? Will Modi remove him? If not, then Modi’s grand appeals of unity and respect for Dalits are nothing but another political performance,” Mr. Khera said.

The alleged purification was carried out at Ramlila Maidan in Haldwani after Mr. Kharge addressed a gathering there on August 8. The Uttarakhand Congress has alleged that the Shri Ram Sena, which conducted the ritual, was associated with the BJP, a charge the BJP has denied.

Mr. Kharge had raised the issue in the Rajya Sabha, demanding cases under the Untouchability Act and the arrest of those involved. Mr. Nadda had said the BJP did not subscribe to such practices and that the incident would be investigated.

The Congress chief had also spoken about it in the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and expressed his anguish that the party had not done enough to condemn it. Subsequently, the CWC condemned the incident, with general secretary Jairam Ramesh demanding an apology from Mr. Modi.