Congress leader and a Cabinet minister in the Charanjit Singh Channi government, Raj Kumar Verka on Thursday accused Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of deliberately targeting Punjab’s first Dalit Chief Minister (Channi) by plotting Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids on his relatives.
Addressing a Press conference, Verka alleged BJP and PM Modi are trying to suppress people of Dalit community of the country through this cheap politics. He said ideology of BJP has always been anti-Dalit and therefore the Modi government is adopting such maneuvers to suppress and intimidate Dalits and people of Punjab.
“It is sad to believe that the Prime Minister who speaks in the interest of Dalits and backward classes has stooped so low,” said Verka and added that BJP, Aam Aadmi Party and Shiromani Akali Dal are hatching conspiracy against the country’s first Dalit and young CM of Punjab.
Verka stressed that the BJP wants to grab the CM’s chair by any means and that is why they are attempting to disturb peace in the state.
“During PM’s rally in Ferozepur around 700 people turned up against the arrangement of 70,000 persons. Frightened by this, BJP and its allies are conspiring against us and threatening Dalits,” Verka said adding that Dalits are not afraid of anyone.
The minister alleged Rs Three Crore were seized from a vehicle belonging to BJP in Ghaziabad which were to be sent to the office in Lucknow and then a total Rs 177 crores were seized. But no case was registered in this seizure.
“When ED raids at BJP leaders then no action is taken and here the CM of Punjab is being deliberately targeted and humiliated,” he said.
Congress leader Alka Lamba alleged Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s nephew was arrested in the PWD scam and ED had also conducted a raid.
“Besides, Delhi’s Health Minister Satyendra Jain was raided by the CBI over corruption, an officer associated with the Deputy CM was also arrested during the CBI raid, Income tax department had also conducted raid at 16 places associated with the Transport Minister, Rs 130 Crore were recovered from MLA Kartar Singh Tanwar,” said Lamba and showed a photo of Uttam Nagar MLA Naresh Balyan while commenting, “Kejriwal is not a common man, but a dishonest man”.