Pawan Khera hits back at Amit Shah, accuses PM Modi of disrespecting Dalit leaders

New Delhi: Congress leader Pawan Khera on Tuesday responded to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks about the Congress party not respecting Dalits. Khera criticised and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of disrespecting Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge, who comes from a Dalit background.
Khera said, "PM Modi continuously disrespects Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge. In the BJP's entire history, there has been only one Dalit leader who became the BJP President, Bangaru Laxman, and that too for just one year. Will they tell us how to respect Dalits?"
He further commented on Amit Shah's statement in Haryana, where Shah claimed that the Congress party does not respect Dalits. Khera responded, "Our national president is Kharge Sahab, whom he insults repeatedly. Modi ji, is this honour? In their entire history, there was only one Dalit president for one year, Bangaru Laxman Ji, who was also removed. They will tell us how Dalits are respected?"
Regarding Home Minister Amit Shah's statement that Congress will release jailed terrorists, Khera responded, "When the BJP came to power with the PDP in 2014, Asiya Andrabi was one of their brand ambassadors. The country knows that when Modi Ji and Amit Shah Ji speak, truth is hard to find."
While campaigning in Haryana, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had accused Congress of disrespecting Dalit leaders and called it an 'anti-Dalit' party during an election rally in Haryana's Fatehabad. He claimed that Congress denied job reservations and criticised Rahul Gandhi's remarks on reservation in the US. "Congress is an anti-Dalit party... Congress has always disrespected Dalit leaders, be it Dr. Ashok Tanwar or Kumari Selja. Dr. BR Ambedkar wasn't given the Bharat Ratna while Congress was in power," Shah said.
On the party's current dynamics with Kumari Selja and its leadership ahead of the upcoming Haryana elections, Khera said, "In every party, people have the right to express their ambitions. I have my own ambitions, and there is nothing wrong with that. There is no confusion in our party's decision-making process. If the BJP hopes for confusion, they will be disappointed. We will win Haryana with a huge majority."
The Haryana assembly elections will be held on October 5 and the counting of votes will be on October 8.