Deeply hurt over sinister campaign, says Shanta

Our Correspondent

Palampur, March 17

Senior BJP leader and MP from Kangra Shanta Kumar here said he was deeply hurt over the sinister campaign launched against him on social media and in the section of the press that he had passed derogatory remarks against the Gaddi community at Dharmsala.

He said these reports were far from truth. He had never uttered even a single word against the community who was a staunch supporter of the BJP for the past 35 years since when the BJP came to existence. This community always supported the BJP and sent him to the assembly and parliament many times.

Addressing mediapersons at his residence here on Sunday, Shanta Kumar said many Gaddi leaders joined the BJP during his tenure as the CM and later, they were also made ministers by him. He could not even dream about hurting the sentiments of this community, he said.

He said when he was the Union Minister in the Vajpayee government, ST status was granted to this community by making necessary amendments in the Constitution of India.

Though it was a difficult task, he said he succeeded. He quoted the example of Gujjars in Rajasthan, who had been fighting for the ST status despite many agitations for the past 10 years, but failed to get the ST status.

However, he said he was ready to apologise if in any case any member of the Gaddi community felt hurt.

In reply to a question, he said he had never applied for the ticket from the Kangra-Chamba parliamentary seat and was not in the race. He said he would remain a disciplined worker of the party who made him the CM twice and Union Cabinet Minister as well and any decision taken by the party in this regard would be binding on him.

He said he had always favoured that some youth be given the parliamentary ticket from Kangra, adding that at the age of 85, he was contended and his only aim was to serve the public in one way or the other.

Gaddi leader comes out in support of Shanta

Palampur: Senior Gaddi leader and vice-president of the All-India BJP Tribal Morcha Trilok Kapoor on Sunday appealed to his community to stop the sinister campaign against senior leader and Kangra MP Shanta Kumar on social and print media. He said the media had "twisted" his statement given in Dharamsala on Saturday. "Shanta Kumar did not pass any derogatory remarks against the Gaddi community while briefing mediapersons. I have gone through the video recording of the press briefing and there was nothing adverse  against our community," he said. Kapoor said the Kangra MP had done a  lot for our community. "It is  all  because of his efforts that Gaddis in Kangra and Chamba were declared tribals by making amendments to the Constitution, when he was a minister in the Union Cabinet," he added. He said such campaign was not in favour of the BJP and the Congress would draw political mileage out of it for its benefits. — OC