‘Shanta’s remarks against ST Morcha leader uncalled for’

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, March 16

The BJP, which takes pride in being a disciplined party, has been jolted by national vice-president of the party’s Scheduled Tribe Morcha Trilok Kapoor, who is staking claim to party ticket from Kangra.

Kapoor started lobbying for BJP ticket a few months ago. He has put his posters all over the constituency. Many Gaddi leaders have held press conferences in his favour and demanded that the BJP should give ticket to a leader from their community. Some leaders have also threatened to boycott the elections in case, their candidate is not allotted ticket.

Yesterday during a meeting of party leaders at Dharamsala, BJP leader Shanta Kumar allegedly reacted to the hectic campaign launched by Kapoor. He said it was Lok Sabha poll, and not an election of a community leader. The statement was reported in a section of media today.

The Gaddi leaders associated with Kapoor strongly reacted to the statement. They took to the social media today to flay Shanta. Some termed it an insult, while others tried to give it a caste angle.

The Congress chanced upon the opportunity and launched an attack on Shanta. Many party leaders in different parts of Kangra held a press conference to flay the BJP leader statement.

It is not for the first time that a comment of a senior leader is being used to galvanise the Gaddi community. Last year, just before the Assembly elections, former CM Virbahdra Singh, during his visit to Una while taking a jibe at BJP state president Satpal Satti, had said even Gaddis had presidents. Later, the CM tried to clarify that he had said that the Gaddi leaders had more following than the state BJP president. The clarification, however, did not have much impact and the Gaddis led by BJP leaders held a protest.

The Gaddi movement against Virbhadra Singh helped the BJP leader from Dharamsala, Kishan Kapoor, polarise votes of the community during the Assembly elections of 2017.