To win over the Dalits ahead of the Punjab Assembly polls are due in early 2017, the Congress has launched a campaign to expose the “anti-Dalit” mindset of the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP government.
“Dalits feel insecure in Punjab. They [the ruling coalition] are anti-Dalit and hence their attitude and mindset needs to be exposed,” Congress Legislature Party leader Charanjit Singh Channi told The Hindu .
He said Congress workers were reaching out to the people in all constituencies, highlighting the “discrimination” against the Dalits. “On February 15 and 16, we are organising a seminar in Ludhiana on issues facing the Dalits. Dalit leaders from across the State have been invited to discuss the issues.”
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Though the Dalits accounted for nearly 34 per cent of the State’s population, their condition was miserable because of the government’s apathy, he said. “The government is depriving them of benefits of government schemes meant for them.” Furthermore, the State was not releasing funds for scholarship.
Congress campaign committee vice-chairman Sadhu Singh said the State government was not filling the vacancies meant for the Schedule Castes. “Cases of atrocities against Dalits have increased sharply. A case in point is the killing of a 27-year-old man at the farm house of Akali leader Shiv Lal Doda in Abohar,” he said.