Cheema alleges BJP’s ‘anti dalit’ mindset exposed during Nitin Nabin’s Punjab visit

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Chandigarh, June 24

Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s “anti-Dalit” mindset was exposed during the recent Punjab visit of party leader Nitin Nabin, claiming that senior Scheduled Caste leaders were denied due respect at a BJP event held during the visit.

Referring to a program organized during Nabin’s three-day visit to Punjab, which concluded on Monday, Cheema claimed that former Union ministers Vijay Sampla and Som Parkash were made to stand among the audience while other leaders occupied seats on the stage.

The senior Aam Aadmi Party leader alleged that the incident reflected discrimination against leaders from the Scheduled Caste community and highlighted what he described as the BJP’s attitude towards marginalized sections of society.

Cheema further alleged that the BJP gives importance only to an “elite” class, while Dalits, labourers and economically weaker sections are regularly sidelined and humiliated.

He said the Scheduled Caste community constitutes nearly 34 percent of Punjab’s population and has witnessed such treatment firsthand. Cheema also claimed that the BJP is “anti-Punjab” and “anti-farmer”, adding that its “anti-Dalit face” now stands fully exposed before the people of the state.

Citing National Crime Records Bureau data for 2024, Cheema claimed that nearly 65 percent of crimes against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were reported from four BJP-ruled states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan.

According to him, the figures reflect the failure of BJP governments to safeguard Dalit communities and indicate what he termed the party’s deep-rooted prejudice against marginalised groups.

Cheema alleged that leaders who had served the BJP for decades and represented the Scheduled Caste community were denied basic respect during the recent event in Punjab.

He maintained that the episode demonstrated a discriminatory mindset towards Dalits, workers, and the poor, while asserting that the people of Punjab would respond strongly to such politics in the future.