Charanjit Channi attacks Punjab Govt’s ‘anti-Dalit’ policies

Deepkamal Kaur

Phillaur, April 20

Sharpening his attack, former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi blamed the Aam Aadmi Party-led government in the state for promoting ‘anti-Dalit policies’.

Addressing two rallies at Phillaur in favour of Congress candidate for the Jalandhar Lok Sabha (reserved) byelection Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary, Channi said no appointments had been made against 58 posts of lawyer meant for SC/STs in the Advocate General’s office.

Channi said, “The reservation policy was not being followed. The government had the courage to give a submission in the court that the community, represented Dr BR Ambedkar, did not produce good lawyers. This is their mentality. They want you to thrive only on the atta-dal scheme.”

In the SC-dominated belt, he further attacked AAP, “You can gauge their ant-Dalit stance by this. The government is misusing the Vigilance Bureau or ED or Income Tax Department against me.” One of the AAP leaders was asking people as to how a man, who used to pitch tents, rose to this level. They cannot see a poor and Dalit man growing,” he said.

The VB had issued summons to me for tomorrow but I have told the agency that I cannot procure as much information as sought by them so quickly. They had asked me to furnish details not just of my valuable assets, but also the number of sofa sets, chairs, fans, exhaust fans, plates, bowls, glasses, etc that I possess. They are yet to give me the next date.”

He strongly played his anti-Dalit card against the government. “By humiliating me, they want to suppress the aspirations of all Dalits who want to rise.”

He further tried to consolidate SC votes in favour of the Congress, “Do not split your votes. There is no idea doling out votes for the BSP. When the BSP fields its candidate from any seat in the alliance, SAD cadres do not vote him. So why waste your vote for a party that is known to ditch the BSP.”

In the midst of the rally, Channi even took up the issue of Amritpal’s wife Kirandeep Kaur getting detained at the Amritsar airport while she was boarding a flight to the UK. He said, “If the police had any evidence that she had committed any offence, they could have arrested her or else they should have let her go. It is not in our culture to harass women like this.”