Bandh call by Dalit outfits against Hathras incident disrupts life in Punjab’s Jalandhar, Phagwara

State’s Doaba belt constitutes major chunk of Scheduled Caste population; protesters also want social welfare minister removed for role in scholarship scam

Markets in Doaba, particularly in Jalandhar and Phagwara cities, wore a deserted look and traffic was thin on Saturday in response to the Bharat Bandh call by Dalit organisations to protest the Hathras incident in Uttar Pradesh and alleged post-matric scholarship scam involving a Congress minister in Punjab.

BJP’s Scheduled Caste Morcha members protesting against Congress minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot over his alleged role in the SC scholarship scheme, in Amritsar on Saturday. (Sameer Sehgal/HT)

The Doaba region of Punjab, comprising Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar districts, is affected by Dalit protests as it constitutes a major chunk of the state’s Scheduled Caste (SC) population. Of Punjab’s 2.8 crore population, Dalits make up 32%, the highest in the country.

Punjab Agro Industries Corporation chairman Joginder Singh Mann led supporters in holding protests in Phagwara. Mann said that the rising number of atrocities against the underprivileged and weaker sections of society in Uttar Pradesh has exposed the “anti-poor face” of the BJP government in the state. He accused the state government of suppressing voices against injustice.

Paramjit Singh Kainth, the National Scheduled Castes Alliance president, demanded the suspension of the Punjab minister for social welfare Sadhu Singh Dharamsot for his involvement in the scholarship scam, saying that the additional chief secretary, social justice, empowerment and minorities, had already cited his role in his report to the chief secretary.