BC leaders ignored: Congress MLA Surjit Singh Dhiman to Sonia Gandhi

Tribune News Service

Sangrur, July 3

Amid the ongoing tussle within the state Congress, its MLA from Amargarh Surjit Singh Dhiman today warned of serious ramifications for the party if it failed to give due respect to leaders of Backward Classes.

In a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Dhiman sought adequate representation for leaders belonging to the community, who, he claimed, were feeling cheated.

“I am not against any community, but since the formation of the Congress government, everyone is talking about Jat, Hindu and Dalit community leaders despite the fact that leaders of these communities have already been given due representation in the state government. No one is talking about Congress leaders belonging to the Backward Class community,” said Dhiman.

In the letter, Dhiman alleged there was resentment among members of the community as they had not been given due respect by the Congress government.

“During my recent meeting with senior Congress leaders in New Delhi, I had raised the issue of Backward Class leaders being sidelined. The anger among BC leaders may cost the party dear in the forthcoming Assembly elections,” he warned.

Dhiman said the Congress had always taken care of all communities and he was hopeful the leadership would take a sympathetic view of his letter. “But if no action is taken, we will call a state-level meeting of leaders from the community in the coming days to take a call on our future course of action,” added Dhiman.