Rivals lap up issue as BJP’s Dalit outreach takes a hit

The socio-politico tremors of the death by suicide of Haryana-cadre IPS officer Y Puran Kumar are being felt in Punjab, the state having the largest proportion of Dalit population in the country.

The incident is being termed as a case of "institutionalised caste-based discrimination", which may have political resonance in Punjab that is set to go to the polls in just 15 months.

While Punjab’s ruling AAP has quickly lapped up the issue and that of the shoe attack on Chief Justice of India BR Gavai to target the BJP, which rules at the Centre and in Haryana, Congress Dalit leaders led by former CM Charanjit Singh Channi too have put their weight behind the officer’s family.

While Punjab’s ruling AAP has quickly grasped the issue and that of the shoe attack on Chief Justice of India BR Gavai to attack the BJP, which rules at the Centre and in Haryana, Congress Dalit leaders led by former CM Charanjit Singh Channi too have put their weight behind the officer’s family.

Apart from holding candle marches across the state on Sunday, AAP has got 100 FIRs registered over the shoe attack on the CJI.

The party, led by CM Bhagwant Mann and Finance Minister Harpal Cheema, has also claimed of never falling for caste-based politics and blamed the BJP for atrocities against Dalits.

On the other hand, political ramifications for the BJP are serious, especially at this time when it is trying to make political inroads into Punjab, mainly by winning over Dalit voters.

Party leaders have reportedly not just been in touch with big deras where Dalits pay their reverence but attempts have also been made to woo them through several Centre-sponsored schemes.

At this point, the more the issue of the deceased IPS officer lingers, the more it dents the political narrative of the BJP in the state.

Realising this, Paramjit Singh Kainth, Punjab state vice-president of the BJP Scheduled Castes Morcha, told The Tribune that whosoever was guilty for atrocities on the late IPS officer should not only be removed from his post but also be booked by the Chandigarh Police under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Eminent sociologist and chairperson of the Institute of Development and Communication, Pramod Kumar, said while the BJP would have to recover from the political setback of this, the Congress was trying to take advantage of resultant “political opportunity”.

“While AAP is also trying to project itself as a party that stands by Dalits by registering 100 FIRs, it is also an opportunity for SAD to show its pro-Dalit face. The Dalit voters in Punjab, influenced by both tenets of Sikhism that preaches equality and the Arya Samaj that opposes caste system, have never restricted their political backing for a single party,” Kumar said.

“But this incident has highlighted the institutionalised discrimination in the governance system where even the Chief Principal Secretary to the CM could not help the Dalit officer. This has created a narrative of Dalit marginalisation, which could consolidate the Dalit community. The political repercussions for each party, whether good or bad, are there,” he said.

Academic Dr Ronki Ram, who has worked on Dalit consciousness and socio-political dynamics in Punjab, however, said on individual level the issue might have found resonance among members of the community, but politics had its own dynamics.

“How it pans out will have to be seen, especially as Dalits vote for different political parties and not en masse,” he said.