By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
The Congress and the ruling BJP on Monday held separate protests against each other over an alleged ‘purification’ ritual conducted after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a public meeting at Ramlila Maidan in Haldwani.
The Congress staged a “Halla Bol” protest near Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s Residence demanding action against those responsible for the alleged purification ritual. The party also demanded withdrawal of the FIR registered against Rahul Gandhi for raising the issue.
The protest was led by Uttarakhand Congress president Ganesh Godiyal in the presence of party general secretary and state in-charge Kumari Selja. State co-in-charges Manoj Yadav and Surendra Sharma, Leader of Opposition Yashpal Arya, election campaign committee chairman Pritam Singh, election management committee chairman Harak Singh Rawat and several MLAs also participated.
Congress workers gathered at Parade Ground and marched towards the Chief Minister’s residence carrying banners, placards and party flags and raising slogans. Police stopped them by putting up barricades. Some leaders who attempted to cross the barricades were taken into preventive custody and later released.
Addressing the protesters, Selja said Kharge was not only the Congress president but also a senior Dalit leader. “His insult is an insult to democratic and constitutional values,” she said, asserting that the Congress would not tolerate such “casteist and anti-democratic” mindset.
Godiyal said the party would continue to raise its voice for social justice and democracy “from the streets to the Assembly.”
Meanwhile, the BJP’s Scheduled Caste Morcha staged state-wide protests, accusing the Congress of spreading lies over the alleged purification incident.
At a “Social Harmony Pledge Protest” at Gandhi Park in Dehradun, BJP leaders said social dignity and equality were issues linked to the country’s social fabric and democratic values.
Cabinet ministers Rekha Arya and Ganesh Joshi, Dehradun Mayor Saurabh Thapliyal and MLA Vinod Chamoli were among those present at the BJP protest.