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AAP holds statewide protests in Punjab over Bajwa remarks on cabinet minister Harbhajan Singh
The party seeks a public apology from Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa and its leadership; Bajwa, through counsel, denies making objectionable remarks.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab on Friday organised protests across the state against Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, alleging that remarks made by him about Punjab cabinet minister Harbhajan Singh ETO were derogatory and targeted at the Dalit community and working-class groups.
AAP said its leaders, ministers, MLAs, party workers, and local residents participated in demonstrations at several locations, raising slogans and demanding a public apology from Bajwa as well as the Congress leadership.
Baltej Pannu, Punjab unit general secretary of AAP, said the party viewed Bajwa’s comments as going beyond an individual political attack. “Partap Singh Bajwa’s shameful and casteist remarks against Cabinet Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO are not merely an insult to a minister but a direct attack on the entire Dalit community and the hardworking people and labourers of Punjab who earn their livelihood with dignity,” Pannu said. He added that AAP expects Bajwa and the Congress leadership to “publicly apologise to the Dalit community and to all hardworking people.”
In its statement, AAP also said the remarks amounted to an insult to workers, including band-baaja artists and daily wage labourers, and argued that political discourse should not demean people’s livelihoods.
AAP leaders further questioned whether Bajwa’s remarks reflected the Congress party’s position and called on the party’s national leadership to respond publicly. The party said it would continue protests until an apology is issued.
AAP said protests were held across several districts, including Malerkotla and Rupnagar, and listed demonstrations in Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, SBS Nagar, Amritsar, Pathankot, Tarn Taran, Faridkot, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ludhiana, Moga, Patiala, Sangrur, Bathinda, Fazilka, Firozpur, Mansa, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Barnala, and SAS Nagar, among other places.
Bajwa has denied making any objectionable remarks. According to a PTI report, Bajwa’s counsel told the Punjab State Scheduled Castes Commission that the Leader of Opposition “did not make any objectionable remarks against minister Harbhajan Singh.”
AAP said Punjab’s social fabric is rooted in principles of equality, citing Sikh teachings and the ideas associated with B. R. Ambedkar, and reiterated that it would continue its agitation until Bajwa and the Congress leadership issue an “unconditional apology.”
