Udit Raj Urges Dalits to Reject Kejriwal and AAP
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Synopsis
Udit Raj, a prominent Dalit leader and former MP, calls on the Dalit community in Delhi not to support Arvind Kejriwal and his AAP candidates in the forthcoming Assembly elections, highlighting failures and unfulfilled promises regarding Dalit welfare.
Key Takeaways
- Udit Raj's appeal to Dalits against Kejriwal.
- Kejriwal criticized as anti-Dalit and anti-poor.
- Promises to the Dalit community unfulfilled over 10 years.
- Questioning lack of support for Dalit priests and community leaders.
- Failure to address caste census and Dalit employment issues.
New Delhi, Jan 19 (NationPress) Former Member of Parliament and Dalit leader Udit Raj urged the Dalit community in Delhi on Sunday to refrain from voting for Arvind Kejriwal and candidates from the Aam Aadmi Party in the upcoming Assembly elections.
Speaking to reporters at the Delhi Congress office, Udit Raj stated that Kejriwal is anti-Dalit, anti-poor, and has inflicted great harm upon the Dalit community.
The Congress leader criticized Kejriwal for exploiting the emotions of Dalits by adopting the broom as his party's emblem solely to garner votes, yet failing to deliver on their welfare.
He indicated that while Kejriwal seeks votes from Dalits, backward classes, and the economically disadvantaged, he remains mute on the issue of a caste census.
Udit Raj, who previously worked alongside Kejriwal in the income tax department, mentioned that the AAP convenor has made numerous promises to the Dalit community over the past decade but has not acted on any.
He pointed out that Kejriwal has neglected to fill thousands of vacant positions in the Delhi government, which could have benefited the Dalit populace, nor has he regularized ad hoc and temporary employees including sanitation workers, teachers, and DTC staff.
The former MP also highlighted that Kejriwal had pledged to appoint a Dalit Deputy Chief Minister in Punjab but failed to keep that promise.
Present at the press conference were AICC national spokesperson Abhay Dubey and spokesperson Asma Tasleem.
Udit Raj posed eight critical questions to Kejriwal during the conference, questioning why, despite promising Pujaris and Granthis a monthly stipend of Rs 18,000, he has not extended similar support to Buddhist monks, priests at Guru Ravi Das Mandir and Valmiki Mandir, who are part of the Dalit community, as well as priests from impoverished churches.
The Congress leader further inquired why the AAP lacks representatives from Dalit or backward classes among its 11 MPs in the Rajya Sabha; the reason Dalit students have not been sent abroad under the Ambedkar Scholarship Scheme initiated in 2020; and why Kejriwal compelled Dalit minister Rajender Pal Gautam to resign when he proposed the execution of Dr. Ambedkar’s 22 pledges.
