Ludhiana: Dalits deserve dignity, not deception, says Channi
Former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi targeted Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for not attending the government-organised Kabir Jayanti celebrations in Jalandhar on Wednesday, even though they were reportedly just a few kilometers away.
Channi was here in Ludhiana for campaigning in favour of the party's Ludhiana West byelection candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu. While addressing a press conference in Ludhiana on Thursday, Channi said Kejriwal and Mann had committed to participate in the Kabir Jayanti function, but instead spent their time at a private factory,' Channi alleged. 'Their absence is not coincidental — it reflects their deep-seated disregard for Dalit icons and sentiments.'
Channi stated that the Kabir Bhawan in Jalandhar — constructed during the Congress regime at a cost of ₹12 crore — has been neglected by the AAP government. He also pointed out that despite machinery being provided by the previous government for cleaning the sarovar at Bhagwan Valmiki Teerth in Amritsar, the current administration did nothing to maintain it.
Further, Channi slammed the AAP government for scrapping the ₹100 crore Baba Saheb Research Centre project proposed at Kapurthala Technical University during his tenure as CM. 'Not even a single brick has been laid in the past three years,' he said, terming it a betrayal of Baba Saheb's legacy.
Channi also brought up the issue of a ₹25 crore grant that the Congress government had sanctioned for setting up a study centre on Guru Ravidas Ji's teachings at Dera Sachkhand Ballan. He alleged that the AAP government withdrew the cheque, and only revisited the Dera on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections, reissuing the same cheque — which, he claimed, has still not been encashed due to non-release of funds.
Channi also attacked AAP's pre-poll promise of ₹1,000 per month to every woman, alleging that not a single rupee has been disbursed even after over 40 months in power. 'Girls in Punjab now ask their mothers every day, 'When will 'Kejriwal uncle' from Delhi deposit money into our accounts?'' he said.
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