The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Tuesday demanded immediate registration of a criminal case against Leader of the Opposition party (LOP) Sukhpal Singh Khaira for allegedly casting aspersions on the character of Barnala brutality victim Jaswinder Kaur.

In a statement issued, party senior vice president Dr Daljit Singh Cheema alleged that the AamAadmi Party (AAP) leader was insulting and demeaning a girl who had been subject to a brutal assault which was even posted on social media by her tormentors. “There can be no excuse for such inhuman behavior on the part of Khaira. He must be proceeded against immediately as per the law of the land. No one has the right to cast aspersions on a woman by terming her as a blackmailer and a bad character,” said Cheema.

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He also alleged that Khaira had denigrated a dalit girl who was pursuing higher studies. He said Jaswinder, who was unmarried, had completed her Masters degree in physical education and was presently pursuing her doctorate in physical education. “She has earlier played basketball as a young girl. This is a fit case for taking suo-moto action against SukhpalKhaira by the National Commission for Scheduled Castes. The Commission should also direct the state police to register a separate case under the SC Act against the AAP leader,” he added.

The SAD leader also demanded a clarification from AAP convener and Delhi chief minister ArvindKejriwal on this issue. “Will Kejriwal sit back and allow an educated Dalit woman to be called characterless by SukhpalKhaira? This case is also a test for Kejriwal. It is to be seen whether he is sensitive to the insult heaped on the Dalit community by Khaira or he believes in only mouthing homilies on Dalit issues but not taking action when needed,” he said.

Castigating the Leader of Opposition party for not only lowering the standard of discourse in politics by making statements which smacked of criminal misconduct, Cheema said the time had come to put a stop to such aberrant behavior. “Decisive action should be taken against SukhpalKhaira to set limits to what passes off as political dialogue,” he added.