Uttarakhand BJP Holds Ritual Targeting Rahul Gandhi Over Haldwani Row

A photograph of Rahul Gandhi sat center stage at a Dehradun temple Tuesday as local BJP leaders performed a 'Buddhi-Shuddhi' Yajna. The ritual, intended to cleanse the mind, served as a pointed rebuke of the Congress leader’s recent criticisms regarding a controversial purification ceremony held in Haldwani.

Editorial·September 2, 2026·reads: 2,558

Uttarakhand BJP Holds Ritual Targeting Rahul Gandhi Over Haldwani Row

The demonstration at the Panchayati Temple near the Clock Tower featured a broad assembly of BJP officials, including Minister of State Balveer Ghuniyal and Bhagwat Prasad Makwana. Party members accused Gandhi of stoking caste-based tensions and manufacturing political narratives ahead of the 2027 Uttarakhand Assembly elections.

This confrontation follows an August 30 police filing against Gandhi. The FIR, initiated by Amit Kumar of the Shri Ram Sena Dharmarth Seva Nyas, invokes the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Kumar alleges that Gandhi’s characterization of a purification ritual—performed after a rally by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge—as a practice akin to untouchability insulted the Valmiki community. Gandhi had previously demanded legal action against those who conducted the cleaning ceremony, framing the act as a discriminatory practice. The dispute has since triggered wider protests by Congress supporters across Delhi, Chandigarh, and Karnataka.