CHANDIGARH- Aam Aadmi Party Punjab on Friday held massive protests across the state against Leader of Opposition (LoP) Partap Singh Bajwa over his casteist and derogatory remarks targeting Punjab Cabinet Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO. Senior leaders, ministers, MLAs, AAP karyakartas and local residents joined demonstrations in large numbers, raising slogans and demanding a public apology from Bajwa and the Congress leadership.
During this, senior AAP leader and Punjab Unit General Secretary Baltej Pannu said, “Partap Singh Bajwa’s shameful and casteist remarks against Cabinet Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO are not merely an insult to a minister but a direct attack on the entire Dalit community and the hardworking people and labourers of Punjab who earn their livelihood with dignity. We demand that Bajwa and the Congress leadership publicly apologise to the Dalit community and to all hardworking people.”
The AAP Punjab Unit General Secretary added, “The anti-Dalit mindset of the Congress party has once again been exposed before the people of Punjab. The AAP will not allow anyone to demean Dalits or insult the dignity of working-class people in the state.”
He further stated, “Partap Singh Bajwa’s language clearly reflects the Congress party’s deep-rooted hatred towards Dalits and its long history of humiliating marginalised communities out of political arrogance. While the AAP believes in governance, education, health, employment and public welfare, Congress leaders like Partap Singh Bajwa remain trapped in a feudal and casteist mentality that Punjab has repeatedly rejected.”
The AAP leader further said, “Partap Singh Bajwa’s remark is also a direct insult to the hardworking people of Punjab, especially band-baaja artists, daily wage labourers and other artists who work tirelessly during weddings, religious events and social functions.”
Challenging the Congress leadership, AAP Punjab leaders said, “Does Partap Singh Bajwa’s casteist language reflect the official thinking of the Congress party? Does the Congress stand with Bajwa’s derogatory remarks? Will the Congress President and senior leaders publicly condemn him, or will they once again choose silence, just as they have done whenever Dalits were attacked, ignored or humiliated? The silence of the Congress itself proves that Bajwa’s statement was not a personal slip but the real face and real mindset of the Congress party.”
Protests were held across Punjab, including large demonstrations in Malerkotla and Rupnagar, where a significant number of residents and band-baaja artists joined AAP leaders and karyakartas in strongly condemning Bajwa and the Congress party’s anti-Dalit thinking.
Demonstrations also took place in Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, SBS Nagar, Amritsar, Pathankot, Tarn Taran, Faridkot, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ludhiana, Moga, Patiala, Sangrur, Bathinda, Fazilka, Firozpur, Mansa, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Barnala and SAS Nagar, where AAP ministers, MLAs, leaders, workers and local residents came out in large numbers to condemn Partap Singh Bajwa and the Congress party’s anti-Dalit mindset.
AAP Punjab asserted, “Punjab is a land of equality, guided by the teachings of Guru Sahib and the ideology of Babasaheb Ambedkar. The people of Punjab will not tolerate any insult to Dalits and hardworking communities.”
The party made it clear, “The AAP will continue its agitation until Partap Singh Bajwa and the Congress leadership issue an unconditional apology.”