BJP’s ‘garbage’ defence meets a Zero FIR
A Bengaluru complaint alleges a caste-based message behind the Haldwani ritual. Uttarakhand BJP chief Mahendra Bhatt says it was about garbage and slogans. The police have registered a Zero FIR; the motive remains disputed.
A Zero FIR has been registered over a disputed ritual at Haldwani’s Ramlila Ground.
Bengaluru police have registered a Zero FIR against Uttarakhand BJP president Mahendra Bhatt and other BJP functionaries over a purification ritual held at Haldwani’s Ramlila Ground after Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a Congress rally there on August 8. The ritual was reported on August 10, and the case is expected to be transferred to Uttarakhand. [1]
The complaint, filed by Congress leader T.R. Ramappa on August 31, alleges that the havan and “shuddhikaran” conveyed that the venue had been made impure because Kharge, a Scheduled Caste leader, had spoken there. That is the complainant’s allegation, not a police or court finding. The case invokes provisions of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, the SC/ST Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. [1]
Bhatt has denied that the BJP was connected to the organisation that conducted the ritual. He said the venue had been “defiled” by allegedly objectionable slogans and later asked, “Garbage was left behind and if a havan was carried out, then what is wrong with that?” The BJP’s explanation has travelled from purification to housekeeping, while the exact motive remains unestablished. [2]