Chandigarh, Sep 10 (PTI) AAP leader Manish Sisodia accused the BJP on Thursday of attempting to “exploit” the pain of a poor Dalit family in Punjab for political gains.
He claimed that residents of Turbanjara “chased away” BJP leaders when they reached the village of Gulzar Singh, a Dalit man who has allegedly committed suicide.
Four senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders on Thursday met the family of Gulzar Singh, a daily wager whose alleged suicide has put Punjab’s drugs crisis in the spotlight again, and pressed for a CBI probe into his death.
The BJP leaders claimed that on the way to meeting the family in Turbanjara village of Sangrur district, a group of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers “attacked” the vehicle of Kewal Singh Dhillon, the state unit chief of the saffron party.
Sisodia alleged that the BJP tried to indulge in politics over the pain of a poor Dalit family in Punjab, but the villagers showed them the “mirror”.
“The development has exposed the BJP’s attempt to exploit the pain of a poor Dalit family for political gains,” the senior AAP leader was quoted as saying in a statement.
Punjab minister and senior AAP leader Balbir Singh said the BJP leaders reached the village notwithstanding the grief of Gulzar Singh’s family.
“Without caring about the pain of the family drowned in grief over the death of Gulzar Singh, the BJP leaders reached the village to do politics over his dead body. The people of Punjab immediately sent them back and exposed their opportunistic politics,” the minister said in a statement.
He said the four BJP leaders — Dhillon, Ashwini Sharma, Sunil Jakhar and Manpreet Singh Badal — should remember that the people of Punjab never forgive those who turn even a death into a political spectacle.
Questioning the BJP’s conduct, the AAP leader said, “Those who see a political opportunity instead of sympathy in a moment of grief, what kind of politics will they teach the people of Punjab? Punjab will never accept this disgraceful mindset of doing politics over dead bodies.” Gulzar Singh, who hailed from Dirba in Sangrur, died on Monday after allegedly consuming poison, with his family alleging that he was harassed and subjected to casteist slurs for questioning Finance Minister Harpal Cheema about the supply of drugs in the area during an event the day before.
A video purportedly of the man shows him asking Cheema about the availability of drugs in his area. He said the sarpanch would be responsible for his death and admitted that his son also took drugs.
As the video went viral on social media, opposition parties cornered the Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and demanded Cheema’s resignation. PTI CHS RC
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