Archive · 14 Aug 2026
Mayawati condemns 'purification' of Kharge speech site, demands police action
Something unkind happened after a big leader gave a speech in a town called Haldwani.
The leader was Mallikarjun Kharge, and he is a Dalit, which is a group that some people in India treat unfairly.
After his speech, some people cleaned the stage where he spoke, as if his talk had made it dirty.
Many people think this cleaning was a mean thing to do because of what group Mr. Kharge belongs to.
A lady leader named Mayawati said this was very wrong and deeply concerning.
She asked the government to take police action against the people who did it.
Mr. Kharge said people linked to the BJP did the cleaning and wanted them punished under the Untouchability Act.
Mayawati also talked about another bad thing on the same day.
A Sikh leader named Sukhbir Singh Badal was hurt with a knife at a gurdwara.
Mayawati said the governments should take strict legal action, and the police caught the person who did the attack.
BSP chief Mayawati condemned the alleged 'purification' of a stage in Haldwani after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, a Dalit, addressed a gathering there.
The alleged 'purification' took place at Ramlila Maidan in Uttarakhand, where Kharge made a speech on August 8.
In the Rajya Sabha, Kharge claimed people associated with the BJP carried out the 'purification' and demanded they be booked under the Untouchability Act and jailed.
Union Minister J P Nadda also condemned the act, while Mayawati urged the RSS chief to take cognisance of the incident.
Mayawati also condemned the knife attack on Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal at a gurdwara in Nanded, Maharashtra, where a Nihang attacked him with a kirpan and injured his hand; the assailant was taken into custody.
- Who
- BSP chief Mayawati, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Union Minister J P Nadda, and Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal
- What
- Mayawati condemned the alleged 'purification' of the stage where Kharge, a Dalit, spoke in Haldwani, and also condemned the knife attack on Badal in Nanded.
- When
- Friday, August 14 (Mayawati's statement); Kharge's speech was on August 8; the attack on Badal occurred on Thursday.
- Where
- Ramlila Maidan in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, and a gurdwara in Nanded, Maharashtra.
- Why
- To protest the alleged caste-based 'purification' incident and to demand strict legal action against those responsible for both incidents.
Congress and BSP critics
BJP and RSS
Responsibility for the 'purification'
Congress and BSP critics
Congress president Kharge claimed that people associated with the BJP carried out the 'purification' and demanded they be booked under the Untouchability Act and jailed.
BJP and RSS
Union Minister J P Nadda condemned the act, distancing the government from the incident without accepting the allegation against BJP-linked people.
Reservation for economically stronger Dalits
Congress and BSP critics
Mayawati said the RSS chief, who advocates depriving Dalits who have become somewhat economically stronger of reservation benefits, should take cognisance of the Haldwani incident and give it serious thought.
BJP and RSS
The RSS chief reportedly supports limiting reservation benefits to Dalits who have not become economically stronger, a stance Mayawati criticizes.
- Key figure
- BSP chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati
- Congress president
- Mallikarjun Kharge
- Incident location
- Ramlila Maidan, Haldwani, Uttarakhand
- Date of Kharge speech
- August 8
- Date of Mayawati statement
- August 14 (Friday)
- Demand
- Action against 'casteist and feudal elements'; Kharge sought booking under the Untouchability Act
- Badal attack
- Knife/kirpan attack at a gurdwara in Nanded, Maharashtra; injury to the hand
- Attack status
- Assailant, a Nihang, taken into custody