Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s claims of untouchability against Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge at a Congress rally venue in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, have been debunked by a Hindu Dalit man, Ankit Pal, who reportedly participated in the ‘purification’ ritual.
Ankit Pal is a member of the Shri Ram Seva Dharmarth Nyas organisation that performed a Havan ceremony on 10th August at a venue in Haldwani, where a Congress rally was held on 8th August. The Congress rally was attended by Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, who is a Dalit.
Speaking to the media on Sunday (29th August), Ankit Pal rejected the allegations of Rahul Gandhi and his party that the Havan ceremony was an act of untouchability against a Dalit, Mallikarjun Kharge. Ankit, who belongs to the Valmiki caste, which is a part of the Dalit community, said that after the Congress rally, the venue, where Ram Lila is traditionally organised, was left littered and dirty. He said that people who attended the rally left bottles filled with urine at the place. This is the reason that the organisation cleaned the place and performed a havan ceremony to cleanse it.
Haldwani, Uttarakhand: Shri Ram Seva Dharmarth Nyas Member Ankit Pal says, "My name is Ankit Pal. As everyone knows, a rally was organized by Congress in Haldwani on the 8th. After that, we conducted a cleanliness drive at the venue, which was also called a Shuddhikaran Havan…" pic.twitter.com/I4kcpkA71x
— IANS (@ians_india) August 29, 2026
Allahu Akbar slogans were raised during Congress rally in Haldwani
He added that Islamic slogans like Allahu Akbar were also raised at the Congress rally at a place where Hindu religious events are organised.
“Look, I had made this clear through your channel that the shuddhikaran havan was performed because a political programme was held on that stage. First of all, it is a cultural stage, and no political party should be allowed to use that stage. And through that stage, slogans of ‘Allah Hu Akbar’ were raised, as we saw in the videos we received. So, the havan was performed there for its shuddhikaran…” Pal said.
Watch: On a 'shuddhikaran' havan performed at Ramlila Maidan in Haldwani after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's rally, Ankit Pal says, "Look, I had made this clear through your channel that the shuddhikaran havan was performed because a political programme was held on that… pic.twitter.com/KF03a3k3Wu
— IANS (@ians_india) August 29, 2026
Pal’s statement refutes the claims made by the entire Congress machinery that the Havan ceremony was performed to purify the venue because it was visited by Kharge, a Dalit. It also puts to rest the Congress party’s claims that the so-called ‘shuddhikaran’ was performed by BJP workers, as Ankit Pal himself stated that he is associated with the Shri Ram Seva Dharmarth Nyas and not the BJP.
After the Havan ceremony was performed, Congress accused the BJP of an anti-Dalit mentality and alleged that it promoted ‘untouchability’ against Dalits by performing the Havan ceremony. Congress leaders demanded legal action against those who performed the Havan ceremony; however, no legal action was initiated by the party.
The issue was recently reignited by Rahul Gandhi, who claimed that the Havan ceremony at the Haldwani rally venue was an act of caste-based untouchability against not just the Congress President but the entire Dalit community. Gandhi demanded the lodging of an FIR under the SC/ST Act against those who performed the Havan ceremony, claiming that they were from the BJP.
