Congress leader Udit Raj has taken to custody by Delhi Police on Tuesday after protest outside the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters at Keshav Kunj in Delhi.
Udit Raj and other congress leaders with members of Doma Parisangh confederation burned the copies of Manusmriti and symbolic RSS uniforms while raising slogans in Constitution support and against caste discrimination.
Udit Raj Burns Manusmriti Copies At Keshav Kunj
The protest was held after FIR registered against Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over his remark on alleged ‘purification’ ritual at a rally in Haldwani, Uttarakhand.
Protesters staged a protest outside RSS office and shouted, “The country will run on the Indian Constitution, not the Manusmriti.”
Later police went to control the protest and detained Udit Raj and many other activists and taken to Paharganj police station.
“I have been detained. I came to the Keshav Kunj RSS headquarters… I burnt the Manusmriti. Our leader Mallikarjun Kharge was disrespected, and an FIR has been registered against Rahul Gandhi,” Raj told ANI.
Haldwani Purification Row Behind Protest
The Delhi demonstration is linked to a growing political dispute over an alleged purification ceremony at Haldwani’s Ramlila Ground. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a rally there on August 8, while a purification yajna was reportedly held at the venue on August 11.
Congress leaders have described the ritual as an insult to Kharge and a reflection of caste discrimination. Those associated with the ceremony have rejected that allegation, saying the site was cleaned because of litter left after the rally and that the ritual was not connected to Kharge’s caste.
Why Rahul Gandhi Was Booked
An FIR was registered against Rahul Gandhi at Haldwani City Kotwali following a complaint by Amit Kumar, a member of the Scheduled Caste community. Police invoked Sections 196 and 299 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 3(1) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
Gandhi had criticised the alleged ritual and called for legal action against those responsible, escalating the dispute between the Congress and BJP.
Manusmriti Burning And Ambedkar’s Legacy
Raj also invoked the legacy of B.R. Ambedkar, who publicly burned the Manusmriti on December 25, 1927, during the Mahad movement against caste discrimination.
“The RSS and the ruling dispensation are trying to silently substitute our sacred Constitution with the regressive tenets of the Manusmriti,” Udit Raj alleged.
“The purification ritual after Kharge ji’s rally proves that untouchability is still actively practiced and sanctioned by their ecosystem. We will not tolerate this insult to the Dalit community or the modern democratic structure of India.”