Congress slams FIR against Rahul Gandhi, starts FIR drive on 'purification'

New Delhi: Congress condemned FIR against party leader Rahul Gandhi in Uttarakhand following his statement against the alleged "purification" of Ramlila Ground in Haldwani after a rally addressed by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.

A party delegation met the state governor and sought to file FIRs at police stations across Uttarakhand against the "purification" act. The Congress' already-announced September 7 protest in Dehradun against the "purification" issue will now also include the Rahul FIR issue, with many central party leaders expected to participate. There is also buzz over whether the Gandhis will join the protest.

AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal said Congress workers staged demonstrations in the states on Monday against the "purification" act.


AICC general secretary in-charge of Uttarakhand Kumari Selja, who discussed the issues with Kharge and others, said: "They showed great alacrity in registering this FIR against Rahulji, which is baffling, whereas earlier, despite our people submitting complaints in Haldwani, no FIRs were registered (against 'purification'). And what did Rahulji say? He simply raised the point that justice must be served. Yet, an FIR is being lodged against Gandhi under the cover of darkness. Will the country, or Uttarakhand, accept this?"

Congress circles are cautious of its pitfalls in the upper-caste-dominated politics of poll-bound Uttarakhand, and of how BJP may tap into it to try and polarise the matter and shift the focus away from the incumbency issues of the Dhami government. FIR against Gandhi makes it a compulsion for Congress to now stay focused on the 'purification' issue.