Kejriwal wants Bharat Ratna for Dalit leader Kanshi Ram, gets Dullo’s backing
A Dalit himself, Dullo backed Kejriwal and even slammed his own party for failing to ensure the honour for Kanshi Ram and Dr B R Ambedkar.
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Arvind Kejriwal garlands a statue of Kanshi Ram in Ropar, Tuesday.
On Dalit leader Kanshi Ram’s birth anniversary on Tuesday, Delhi CM and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal demanded that the Bharat Ratna, country’s highest civilian award, be bestowed on him.
Kejriwal said this at the late leader’s maternal residence in Pirthipur near Bunga Sahib of Ropar district. The Dalit population, which is around 32 per cent in Punjab, is expected to be a major vote base in the state Assembly elections next year.
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“Bhagwant Mann will raise Dalit’s voice inside Parliament. We will demand Bharat Ratna for the man who gave his life for the welfare of Dalits. AAP will ensure that a great leader like Kanshi Ram gets his due,” said Kejriwal, sharing the stage with Swaran Kaur (72), Kanshi Ram’s sister, who called Kejriwal her ‘special guest’.
The demand was supported by newly-elected Rajya Sabha member and Congressman Shamsher Singh Dullo, who arrived at the residence soon after Kejriwal left. A Dalit himself, Dullo backed Kejriwal and even slammed his own party for failing to ensure the honour for Kanshi Ram and Dr B R Ambedkar.
“I completely support this demand raised by Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal today. I am going to raise this issue in Rajya Sabha,” Dullo told The Indian Express.
However, Dullo’s support for Kejriwal ended there. Criticising Kejriwal, he said, “First he (Kejriwal) should implement AAP plans for SC/ST in Delhi. He need not worry for Punjab, we are here,” he said.
Referring to awarding Sachin Tendulkar the highest honour, Dullo said, “Those who play gull-danda (cricket) are getting Bharat Ratna but not the man who fought his entire life for rights of Dalits. Had Kanshi Ram and Ambedkar not given their lives for Dalits’s rights, we would have never got whatever little is in our hands today.”
“I would say that the Congress failed,” he said. “Over 60 years in power and they were unable to announce Bharat Ratna for Kanshi Ram or Ambedkar. Eh saadey Congressi leaderan di kami reh gai (This is where our Congress leaders lacked). We regret this and Congress accepts its mistake.”
“The entire system is anti-Dalit. Even now there is untouchability. Ambedkar’s dreams have never been fulfilled,” he said.
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