Mayawati: Punjab CM’s appointment a Congress stunt before polls

LUCKNOW: Terming the appointment of Charanjit Singh Channi as Punjab’s first Dalit chief minister a political gimmick of the Congress before the assembly polls, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati asked the Dalits in Punjab to remain wary of “the dual face, character and tricks of the Congress”.

Addressing a press conference in Lucknow within a few minutes after Channi took oath on Monday, Mayawati said, “The Congress has made it clear that it will not contest the assembly election under the leadership of Channi. It clearly shows that the Congress has no faith in the Dalit community.”

“The Congress party is not concerned with the welfare of the Dalit community. It has made a Dalit chief minister to grab the votes of the community in the upcoming assembly election. The Dalits should not be allured by the gimmicks of the Congress,” she said.

“The removal of the chief minister a few months before assembly election and the appointment of a Dalit community leader as new CM clearly shows that there is panic in the Congress camp over Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)- BSP alliance for the 2022 assembly election in Punjab,” she said. “The Congress and other rival political remember Dalit community either under compulsion or when these parties are facing trouble in elections,” she added.

“It can be gauged from the fact that the Congress appointed Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar the chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee as it did not have another leader who could match the capability or intellect of Ambedkar. Had there been a leader more capable than Ambedkar, Congress would not have made Ambedkar chairman of the drafting committee,” Mayawati said.

“The Dalits, backwards and religious minorities would have been denied the rights they enjoy under the Constitution. The rights of the Muslim community have been also safe guarded by the Constitution. The people should know that Ambedkar followed the principles of secularism while drafting the Constitution,” she said. The Dalit community should know that in Uttar Pradesh too when few months are left for the assembly election, the BJP is also showing love for Dalit and other backwards castes.

Terming the affinity of the saffron brigade for Dalits a mere show off and hollow Mayawati said, “Had the BJP been really concerned about the uplift of the Dalit community, it would have filled the backlog in government posts reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The posts reserved for these communities are still lying vacant.”

“The BJP would also have considered the demand for the caste census raised by the backward community. The fact is that the BJP and other casteist political parties are panicky over the caste census.