LUCKNOW: With Congress nominating Charanjeet Singh Channi -- an SC as Chief Minister in an exercise of change of guards in Punjab, BSP president Mayawati, on Monday, cautioned the Dalits against Congress’s “election stunt”. Chani is the first Dalit Chief Minister Punjab has ever got.
The former Uttar Pradesh CM also slammed the Congress party had never trusted the deprived sections of society. She claimed that the grand old party was rattled by the SAD-BSP alliance for the Punjab Assembly polls.
It may be recalled that BSP had entered an alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in poll-bound Punjab in June this year.
“Congress still does not have faith in Dalits. Dalits need to be very cautious about their doublespeak. Congress remembers Dalits only to get sail through in polls. I have full faith that Dalits will not fall for this stunt,” Mayawati said while interacting with media persons in Lucknow.
The BSP president said that murmurs were there in the Congress party that the upcoming polls would be fought under Navjot Singh Sidhu, a non-Dalit leader and not under Channi.
“The reality is that Congress, as well as other political parties, think of Dalits only in times of crisis,” she asserted adding that the appointment of Channi was an example of that mindset.