Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Manish Tewari on Sunday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party has no right to claim representing or safeguarding the interests of Hindus in Punjab.
“A common Hindu in Punjab feels that the BJP in Punjab has been reduced to the status of Minority Morcha of the Shiromani Akali Dal without any say or status in the government,” said Tewari while addressing a conference on the ‘political future of Hindus in Punjab’, organized by the Hindu Jagrati Maha Sabha Punjab.
The former Minister maintained that Punjab was the land of rishis and gurus and had evolved a strong socially equitable system in the state. “However, there was a feeling among a large section of the Hindus that they are not being adequately represented in the political system of the state,” he said.
Tewari said that now was the time to ensure that the social and economic equitability was extended to the political system so that no section felt ignored and left out. “There is a demand that there has to be equality in political representation among all sections including the Dalits and the Hindus,” he added.
He said that while the Congress has always maintained a strong secular character and has been accommodative in addressing the aspirations of all sections of the society, the BJP has only exploited the emotions and sentiments of the Hindus in Punjab.
“With the result, there is virtually no development in the urban areas and trade and industry has been left out to their own fate by the Akali-BJP government from its scheme of things,” he said while adding that the state BJP leadership has been content with gaining and getting small favours here and there.