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‘Systematic bias’: Congress MP Manish Tewari on Punjab CM’s 'Bhaiya' comment row
‘Bhaiya’ controversy: Manish Tewari, Congress’s only Hindu MP from Punjab, has been known for critisicing his party.
Congress MP Manish Tewari on Friday made several sharp comments amid a simmering controversy over Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s “don’t let bhaiyas from UP, Bihar, Delhi enter here (Punjab)” comment just days ahead of the state elections. The controversy “is reflective of an unfortunate systemic and institutionalised social bias against migrants,” the 56-year-old MP from Punjab’s Anandpur-Sahib said.
Tewari, Congress’s only Hindu MP from Punjab, has been known for critisicing his party. He was also a part of the G-23 letter writers – the leaders who wrote an explosive letter to Sonia Gandhi, demanding sweeping changes in the party functioning.
In a series of tweets, he slammed the remark against outsiders. “De-Horse Politics- The Bhaiya controversy is like the Black issue in the US . It is reflective of an unfortunate systemic & institutionalised social bias against migrants stretching back to the inception of the Green Revolution. (sic)."
“At a personal level Despite my mother being a Jat Sikh & my father being the foremost exponent of Punjab - Punjabi- Punjabiyat who laid down his life for Hindu- Sikh amity because of my Sir name it is said behind my back ‘ Eh Bhaiya Kithon Agha’ peppered with the choicest expletives in Punjabi - We have to root it out (sic),” he further wrote, invoking his parents.
“Such thinking should have no place in the Secular ethos of Punjab grounded in the idiom,” the Congress leader insisted.
A few weeks ago, Manish Tewari was dropped from the party’s star campaigners list in the state. At that time too, he had hit out at his party, saying the move didn’t come to him as a surprise.
The video of CS Channi’s comments was widely shared on social media and the remarks have been questioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal among others.
With Priyanka Gandhi Vadra by his side during campaigning, Channi can be heard saying, “Priyanka Gandhi is the daughter-in-law of Punjab. She is Punjabi. You should not let bhaiyas from UP, Bihar or Delhi enter here.”
In the state, which votes on Sunday in a single phase, about one-third of the population belongs to the Dalit community. Referring to the Dalit icon Guru Ravidas, PM Modi on Thursday said, “Guru Ravidas was born in UP… such comments reek of divisivenenss.”
Amid the backlash, CS Channi clarified that his comments were taken out of context. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also backed him saying, “Punjab should be ruled by people from the state. That’s what he meant.”
