New Delhi: The police in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Uttarakhand’s Haldwani on Sunday (August 30) registered an FIR against Lok Sabha leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the SC/ST (prevention of atrocities) Act, reported Indian Express.The FIR against Gandhi comes a day after the LoP had condemned the “purification” ritual that was performed on stage in Haldwani after Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a public meeting earlier this month. Gandhi had called the incident a crime and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must register an FIR.According to superintendent of police, city, Haldwani, Manoj Kumar Katyal, the FIR against Gandhi was lodged on the basis of a complaint by Amit Kumar, a resident of Jawahar Nagar Colony in Haldwani.Kumar, 26, claimed in his complaint that he is a member of the Valmiki community, and that he, along with other Scheduled Caste community members, participated in the “cleanliness drive and religious ritual” held at Ramlila Maidan in Haldwani on August 11. He claimed the act had no connection with any individual or caste.“Despite that, Rahul Gandhi, in a press conference on August 29, without any verification, called it an act related to ‘chuwachhoot’ (untouchability) and a crime against Scheduled Castes, and demanded an FIR against those who participated in that ritual,” said Kumar in his complaint.He said that he himself belongs to the Valmiki community, but has been portrayed as someone who indulges in untouchability and is anti-Dalit. Kumar alleged that enmity and tensions had increased between communities after Gandhi’s allegations, reported Indian Express.On the basis of Kumar’s complaint, the FIR against Gandhi has been lodged under sections 196 (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and section 299 (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the BNS and section 3 (1) (Q) of the SC/ST Act, which pertains to giving false or frivolous information to a public servant, causing that public servant to use their power to harm or annoy a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe.Earlier on Saturday (August 29), citing the “purification” ritual performed in Haldwani, Gandhi had accused the BJP of practicing untouchability. Gandhi had said that PM Modi should order an FIR and the incident revealed that the BJP-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) mindset does not want Dalits to progress.“When our Rajasthan CLP [Congress Legislature Party] leader Tikaram Jully visits a temple, BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] leaders perform purification rituals. When Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who has dedicated his whole life to the country, has been a minister, when he goes to deliver a speech at Haldwani’s Ramlila Maidan, purification is performed there. When former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi visits a temple, purification is performed there too. This is done by BJP-RSS [BJP-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh] people, and this is a crime according to the constitution of India,” Gandhi had said.On August 13, Kharge had raised the matter in the Rajya Sabha and said that he was made to feel the “sting of untouchability” when Union minister and leader of the House J.P. Nadda had said action would be taken.“I have the strength to fight. I do fight. Lakhs of people were there at Ramlila Maidan in Haldwani. At that time, I did not mention the name of any community or religion; I only reiterated the issues of the government. But after my speech, you [people associated with Bharatiya Janata Party] tried to insult me by doing a purification ritual [on the stage in Haldwani], you made me feel the sting of untouchability. Is this the way in a democracy? How are you protecting the constitution? I am the LoP,” Kharge had said in the Rajya Sabha.Reacting strongly over the latest development, the Congress announced that all Pradesh Congress Committees (PCCs) will hold massive protest marches in their respective state and district headquarters.“The BJP’s blatant defence of this casteist behaviour and its shameless weaponisation of the state machinery to target the Leader of the Opposition unequivocally proves that they are the biggest perpetrators and protectors of social injustice today. They have demonstrated that they will deploy the entire might of the state to suppress anyone who dares to speak out against caste-based discrimination and Dalit atrocities,” said Congress MP and the party’s general secretary in-charge (organisation) K.C. Venugopal on Monday.