BHATINDA: Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal's ambitious Sangat Darshan initiative came under sharp criticism from an organization of schedule caste who called it biased, restricted only to Bathinda parliamentary constituency and grossly ignores the plight of the SC community.
President of National Scheduled Castes Alliance (NSCA) Paramjit Singh Kainth on Friday said "there are 37 scheduled caste dominated villages in Punjab which have miserably failed to attract the fancy of chief minister for holding sangat darshan. Badal's 'magnanimity' showers only on non-SC dominated villages".
The allegation came close on the heels of PPCC chief Partap Singh Bajwa raising objections over the veracity of sangat darshans and Giddarbaha MLA Raja Warring terming these as only 'Akali Darshan'.
Kainth said "there are 3,788 villages in Punjab having at least 40 per cent SC population but these too were deprived from the chief minister's public audience." Despite the Planning Commission's recommendation that the Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCSP) should first be implemented in villages and towns with large SC presence, the authorities are not adhering to it and the biasness continues, Kainth said.
There are 34 scheduled caste MLAs in Akali Dal, BJP and Congress, there are 4 MPs, but none of them could convince Badal to hold sangat darshans at SC dominated areas.
Denying discrimination, Bathinda MLA Darshan Singh Kotfatta however, said "though senior Badal never held sangat darshan in his area, but deputy CM Sukhbir Badal and MP Harsimrat Badal have held public audience from time to time."
