Congress leader and All India Unorganized Workers and Employees Congress national chairman Udit Raj was detained by Delhi Police on Tuesday after a sudden protest outside the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters at Keshav Kunj in the capital. The demonstration, which included Congress workers and members of the Doma Parisangh confederation, attacked caste discrimination and what the protesters claimed was an insult to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
The protesters gathered outside the RSS office without a public announcement and raised slogans while burning copies of the Manusmriti. Some of them also lit fire to symbolic RSS uniforms during the protest. Police quickly intervened and prevented the demonstration from spreading around the sensitive location.
One of the most popular slogans of the protest was, “The country will run on the Indian Constitution, not the Manusmriti.” The message spoke to the demonstrators’ opposition to attempts to invoke the ancient text in a manner that contradicts the principles of equality and constitutional democracy.
The protest has taken place during a political spat between caste, Dalit identity and discrimination. The immediate background is a controversial “shudhikaran” or purification ritual that reportedly took place at a public rally ground in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, after Mallikarjun Kharge had addressed a gathering there.
Congress and Dalit organisations have strongly opposed the ritual and have described it as a casteist act directed at Kharge. The incident has since become a political flashpoint and opposition leaders have accused those involved of continuing the practice of untouchability and caste-based exclusion.
The controversy was further fuelled by an FIR against Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi for his comments on the Haldwani episode. Gandhi had publicly pointed out the incident and Congress leaders and supporters have continued to demand accountability for what they consider an affront to Kharge and the Dalit community.
Before his detention, Udit Raj said he had gone to the RSS headquarters as part of the protest and admitted to burning copies of the Manusmriti. He also linked this demonstration with the political controversy around Kharge and the FIR against Rahul Gandhi.
Udit Raj touched upon the legacy of Dr BR Ambedkar, who burned the Manusmriti at Mahad in Maharashtra on 25 December 1927 to protest caste inequality and the social hierarchy that he had opposed. This act became an important symbol in Dalit movements and Dalit debate on caste discrimination in India.
The Congress leader also accused the RSS and the ruling establishment of trying to replace the values of the Indian Constitution with what he described as regressive principles associated with the Manusmriti. He argued that the purification ritual after Kharge’s rally demonstrated that caste discrimination and untouchability were still matters of concern.
Delhi Police responded quickly to the flash demonstration, and placed some extra police in front of the RSS headquarters. Since the gathering was not announced in advance, government officials moved to disperse the protesters and prevent a more serious clash.
Udit Raj and dozens of other activists were taken to Paharganj police station after being detained. The police action came as authorities went about restoring normalcy around the RSS office and containing the protest.
#WATCH | Delhi: Congress leader Udit Raj, who was staging a protest along with other party workers outside the Keshav Kunj RSS headquarters against the FIR registered against Rahul Gandhi over the Haldwani 'purification' controversy, has been detained by police. pic.twitter.com/wYnjzaSI2o
— ANI (@ANI) September 1, 2026
The episode adds another layer to the political tension between Congress and BJP-RSS over caste, constitutional values and the legacy of Ambedkar. Congress leaders have portrayed the demonstration as a defence of constitutional equality and Dalit dignity, but as the ruling establishment and the opposition are likely to go into a political war, the incident will have consequences.
The burning of the Manusmriti has also brought to light Ambedkar’s longstanding resistance to caste-based social structures. For Congress and Dalit organisations, the symbolism is even more significant, especially when caste discrimination is now the focus of a bitter political debate.
With Udit Raj and other activists arrested after the protest, the event will remain a talking point in Delhi’s political scene. The Haldwani purification ritual, the FIR against Rahul Gandhi and the protest outside the RSS headquarters have all been an extension of the wider discussion on caste, social equality and the role of the Constitution in Indian politics as we get closer to the present day.
