BJP's Anurag Thakur slams AAP as "anti-Dalit" after Ambedkar statue vandalism in Amritsar

New Delhi [India], January 27 (ANI): BJP MP Anurag Thakur on Monday accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of being "anti-Dalit" following the vandalism of a BR Ambedkar statue in Amritsar, Punjab, where the party is in power.
Thakur cited the lack of Dalit representation in AAP's leadership and alleged instances of exploitation and broken promises.
"The face of Aam Aadmi Party has been exposed, it is anti-Dalit. Not a single Rajya Sabha MP is a Dalit, they did not make Deputy Chief Minister from the Dalit community. Two ministers from the Dalit community resigned calling AAP anti-Dalit," Anurag Thakur told ANI.
The BJP MP also alleged that AAP will end reservation.
"They took lakhs of rupees from a Dalit woman in exchange for giving her a ticket... Not only this, in the last 5 years, 500 Dalit children were to be sent abroad for studies, but they could not send even 5 children," he said.
"Today the question arises that when you got two opportunities in Delhi to make a Dalit Deputy Chief Minister and Chief Minister, why did you not do so, why could you not make a Dalit Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister in Punjab, why could you not make a Dalit Rajya Sabha? Now Arvind Kejriwal and his party are going to end reservation," he added.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday strongly condemned the vandalism of the BR Ambedkar statue in Amritsar, stating that no one will be forgiven for the incident.
The incident occurred on Republic Day, sparking widespread outrage. CM Mann emphasized that the incident is highly condemnable and that severe punishment will be meted out to those responsible. He instructed the administration to investigate the matter thoroughly and take strict action against the culprits.
In a post on X, CM Mann emphasized, "The incident of breaking the statue of Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar ji on the heritage street of Shri Amritsar Sahib is highly condemnable and no one will be forgiven for this incident. Whoever is responsible for the incident, he/she will be severely punished. No one will be allowed to break the brotherhood and unity of Punjab. Instructions have been issued to the administration to investigate it and take strict action against the culprits."
Punjab Police said earlier on Sunday that they had arrested a few miscreants for allegedly attempting to tamper with the statue. A case has been registered, and an investigation is ongoing to determine the motive behind the incident.
"A few miscreants tried to tamper with BR Ambedkar's statue at Town hall. We caught them and a case has been registered and an investigation is going on. The motive behind the incident is yet to be found out...," Jagjit Singh Walia, the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police in Amritsar told ANI. (ANI)