Punjab BJP on Thursday slammed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for announcing to appoint Dalit as Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab if his Aam Adami Party (AAP) comes to power in upcoming assembly elections in the state, scheduled for early next year.
Calling AAP’s national convener a “fraudster” who had had deep-rooted hatred for dalits, the state BJP chief Vijay Sampla said: “Arvind Kejriwal thinks the Dalit community of Punjab is greedy and up for sale. His thoughts make me pity him and at the same time they enrage me.”
“Pity because in order to seize power in Punjab, he (Kejriwal) has indulged in low-level politics and consequently, he himself has stooped low,” said Sampla in his blog. “I am furious because this fellow has the guts to come all the way from Delhi to Punjab to buy the loyalty of the Dalit brotherhood which has earned livelihood and dignity by toiling hard and is luring them by offering post of a deputy chief minister,” he said.
Seeking answers from the Delhi Chief Minister, Sampla said: “Kejriwal ji, you are saying that any one representative from the Dalit community would be made the Deputy Chief Minister...Why did you not have someone from the community as the Deputy Chief Minister in DelhiIJ” he asked. Sampla, who is also the Union Minister, said that earlier Congress Governments had “exploited” the Dalits and never “fulfilled their promises made to them”,…Now Kejriwal is following in Congress’ footsteps.
Continuing his tirade, Sampla said: “I had stated it earlier that you don’t do politics in the interests of the Dalits, but you do it so that you can take their advantage.”
Sampla added, “I say it loud and clear that the Dalit of my Punjab is progressing with his own self-confidence. He is not at the mercy of others. I would like to tell this fraud politician that Sir, an MP of your party who belonged to the dalit community and had won election from Punjab was neither made the legislature party leader, nor was he handed a dignified post in your party.” “Instead, he was maltreated and shown the doors, or I should rather say that he was thrown out of the party because he was a dalit. I read it in newspapers that your MP Harinder Singh Khalsa had disclosed that you are anti-dalit. Hence, neither the dalit community, nor the voters of Punjab will fall prey to your malicious designs,” added Sampla.
Concluding, Sampla said: “You have stooped to a new low. Your kind of politics is unacceptable to the people of Punjab. It would be better if you go back to Delhi otherwise the dalit community knows it very well how to respond to an opportunist.”