Anti-Constitution: BJP slams AAP over vandalisation of Ambedkar's statue

Shehzad Poonawalla further alleged that AAP was not fulfilling promises made to the Scheduled Castes during the Assembly election in Punjab

With Delhi Assembly polls less than ten days away, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on Monday hit out at Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over the alleged vandalisation of BR Ambedkar's statue in AAP-ruled Punjab.

The BJP leader called AAP "anti-Constitution" and "anti-Ambedkar."

"Some people of the Aam Aadmi Party, Samajwadi Party, and INDI alliance talk big about the Constitution and Ambedkar. But the way Ambedkar's statue was damaged in broad daylight in front of a police station in Punjab on Republic Day, that too with a hammer, shows that their basic thinking is anti-Scheduled Caste, anti-Constitution and anti-Ambedkar," Poonawalla told ANI.

He further alleged that AAP was not fulfilling promises made to the Scheduled Castes during the Assembly election in Punjab. He added that Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann use the police only for their opponents and their own protection.

"Arvind Kejriwal had promised that if he came to power in Punjab, he would make a Dalit person from the Scheduled Caste community the Deputy Chief Minister; they broke that promise in Delhi too. Today, they should be asked why Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann allowed such an attack to happen. Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann use the police only for their opponents and their own protection," Poonawalla added.

Reacting to the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) being implemented in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand, he said, "The UCC is being implemented in Uttarakhand a day after Republic Day. Uttarakhand is the first state in the country to implement UCC. I think there cannot be a greater respect for the Constitution and Baba Saheb Ambedkar because it empowers women and promotes equality. And UCC was already in our Constitution; the Constitution makers included it, but in the name of the vote bank, look at the 'BBC-Bhadkau Bhaijaan Committee': Owaisi, Congress, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, and Aam Aadmi Party are together opposing women's empowerment. This is anti-women thinking. They always stood up with radical people. They wanted their votes."

The remarks came after an alleged vandalisation of a prominent statue of BR Ambedkar on Republic Day, sparking widespread outrage.

Punjab Police said earlier on Sunday that they had arrested a few miscreants for allegedly attempting to tamper with the statue. A case has been registered, and an investigation is ongoing to determine the motive behind the incident.

"A few miscreants tried to tamper with BR Ambedkar's statue at Town Hall. We caught them and a case has been registered and an investigation is going on. The motive behind the incident is yet to be be found out," Jagjit Singh Walia, the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police in Amritsar, told ANI.

However, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, on Monday, strongly condemned the vandalism of the BR Ambedkar statue in Amritsar, stating that no one will be forgiven for the incident.

CM Mann emphasised that the incident is highly condemnable and that severe punishment will be meted out to those responsible. He instructed the administration to investigate the matter thoroughly and take strict action against the culprits.

In a post on X, CM Mann emphasised, "The incident of breaking the statue of Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar ji on the heritage street of Shri Amritsar Sahib is highly condemnable and no one will be forgiven for this incident. Whoever is responsible for the incident, he/she will be severely punished. No one will be allowed to break the brotherhood and unity of Punjab. Instructions have been issued to the administration to investigate it and take strict action against the culprits.