Cong insulted Dalits by saying Punjab polls to be fought under Sidhu: BJP
Darpan News Desk IANS, 20 Sep, 2021 10:30 AM
New Delhi, Sep 20 (IANS) Hitting out at the ruling Congress for party's Punjab in-charge Harish Rawat's comment that 2022 Assembly polls will be fought under the leadership of state party Chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the Congress has insulted the Dalit community of Punjab and the country.
Punjab BJP President Ashwani Sharma told IANS that to control infighting in its party state unit, the Congress leadership made Channi ji (Charanjit Singh Channi) the Punjab Chief Minister but insulted the Dalit community by not allowing him to lead the party in the upcoming state Assembly polls.
"If the Congress is not confident of the leadership capability of Charanjit Singh Channi, then why did they make him the Chief Minister for four months just before the state Assembly polls," Sharma asked.
Comparing Channi with a night watchman, Sharma further said, "The comments of Congress leaders Harish Rawat and Sunil Jakhar show that no one in the Congress party has faith in Channi's leadership. They (Congress) have made mockery of Channi and insulted Dalits of Punjab and the country."
Earlier on Monday, former Punjab Congress President Sunil Jakhar tweeted, "On the swearing-in ceremony of Charanjit Singh Channi as Chief Minister, (Harish) Rawat's statement that 'elections will be fought under Sidhu' is baffling. It's likely to undermine the Chief Minister's authority but also negate the very 'raison d'etre' of his selection for this position."
Quoting Jakhar's tweet, BJP National Spokesperson R.P. Singh said, "Someone else will be captain of Punjab, is @Charnjit_channi only Night Watchman?"
Amit Malviya, BJP's IT cell National in-charge, tweeted, "This is a huge insult to the entire Dalit community if Charanjit Singh Channi has been made the Chief Minister, only to hold the seat for Navjot Singh Sidhu, the chosen Gandhi family loyalist. This completely undermines the Dalit empowerment narrative being peddled by the Congress. Shame."
"Dalits are now mere political pawns in Congress' devious politics. In Punjab, they claim to have made a Dalit CM, only to be posted as a night watchman till Gandhi family loyalist Sidhu takes over. But maintains deafening silence over lynching of a Dalit youth in Rajasthan," Malviya said.
After a pre-recorded audio and video message circulated on social media by Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, chief of the pro-Khalistan outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), went viral, the Gurugram police on Thursday registered an FIR against Pannu and unknown others at the Cyber Crime police station here.
The final decision on withdrawal of troops from Patrolling Point (PP) 17A in Gogra would be taken up by the top brass of the military and diplomatic hierarchy.
The statement reads: "The opposition parties stand firm and united on their demand for a discussion on the Pegasus issue in both the Houses, replied to by the Home Minister, as this has national security dimensions."
Patra condemned the recent incident in which a nine-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly gang-raped, murdered and then cremated by her attackers in South West Delhi on Sunday evening.
Despite mobile phones are prohibited inside a meeting room where prisoners meet with the visitors, this incident has brought forth the lapses on the part of the jail administration.
In a bid to highlight the rising air pollution as well as the serious health hazards faced by the people, a group of organisations, think tanks and civil society groups have joined hands to form 'Clean Air Punjab'.
