Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee members marched through Itanagar on September 2. They demanded officials drop a police case filed against opposition leader Rahul Gandhi. The rally kicked off at Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan. Party leaders, workers, and supporters joined the demonstration to voice their frustration.
The legal fight started after a purification ritual occurred at Haldwani's Ramlila Maidan on August 10. That venue hosted a Congress rally two days prior. Party president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed the crowd before members of the Shri Ram Sena Dharmarth Seva Nyas Sangathan performed a Shuddhikaran Havan on the same stage. Kharge brought the issue to the Rajya Sabha on August 13. He claimed the event humiliated him. Union Minister J P Nadda promised an investigation into the matter.
Rahul Gandhi demanded police act against the organizers on August 29. He cited the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act while labeling the act as pure discrimination. Authorities filed an FIR against Gandhi the next day. Congress officials now claim the move attempts to silence them and targets Kharge for his Dalit identity. The BJP and the ritual organizers deny any caste-based motives.
The APCC is pushing for a time-bound probe into the ritual itself. They want an end to social exclusion and untouchability. During the protest, the party declared, "This is not merely a Congress-versus-BJP issue. This is a question of whether the Constitution will prevail over political power." Party leaders Mina Toko, Kipa Kaha, Johny Yangfo, and Kon Jirjo Jotham spearheaded the criticism. They vowed to keep fighting against political vendettas.
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