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Punjab News: Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema, Finance Minister of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab, strongly condemned the attack on Honorable Chief Justice of India Justice Bhushan Ramakrishna Gavai. He directly accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of creating a dangerous anti-Dalit atmosphere in the country and termed the incident as an attack on the Supreme Court, the Constitution written by Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar and millions of Dalits across the country.

Addressing a press conference held at Punjab Bhawan here today, Cabinet Minister Harpal Singh Cheema expressed deep disappointment over the silence on this incident. He said that not only did Prime Minister Narendra Modi not react to this, but senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi had also maintained silence, which he saw as support for the BJP. The Finance Minister stressed that this unfortunate situation, where the highest judicial institution of the country has been targeted, is a direct result of the anti-Dalit poison being spread by the BJP through its unauthorized social media handles.

The Finance Minister cited the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report “Crime in India 2023”, citing the alarming increase in crimes against Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes across the country in the current political environment. He said that a shocking increase of 28.8% has been recorded in crimes against Scheduled Tribes across the country. BJP-ruled Manipur reported the highest number of 3,399 cases against Scheduled Tribes, while BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh topped the country with 15,130 cases against Scheduled Castes, followed by Rajasthan at 8,449 and Madhya Pradesh at 8,232. Cheema said that these figures highlight the appalling nature of BJP’s priorities.

Giving a stern warning to BJP, Cabinet Minister Harpal Singh Cheema made it clear that Aam Aadmi Party will never allow BJP’s anti-Dalit policies and strategies to succeed. He announced that AAP was preparing a comprehensive legal and social strategy in response to the attack on the Chief Justice. He said the party plans to launch a nationwide campaign on this issue and ensure strict legal action against all the culprits.

Demanding strict action against the culprits, Finance Minister Cheema said that not only those directly involved, but all those spreading venom against the Dalit community on social media should be identified and prosecuted. Referring to an incident in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, where the Bar Council had taken action against a lawyer, Cheema said it was extremely regrettable that the Bar Council did not register any FIR in this matter nor canceled the license of the lawyer concerned. He stressed that the Bar Council should have taken immediate legal action.

In a press statement issued later, Cabinet Minister Harpal Singh Cheema stressed the need for strict action against illegal and objectionable social media content targeting the Honorable Chief Justice of India. He said that Punjab Police has today registered several FIRs after receiving complaints against more than a hundred social media handles in different districts of the state. He said that legal action has been taken by flagging the posts in which attacks on persons holding high constitutional posts, insults on caste basis and spreading hatred material have been found. These posts and videos contain casteist and hateful statements which were aimed at disturbing communal harmony, disrupting public order and undermining respect for institutions like the judiciary.