Chandigarh, May 23: Aam Aadmi Party delegation led by senior leader and leader of opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha H.S. Phoolka on Tuesday met DGP Punjab over the atrocities against the Dalit community in the state and Director Rural Development and Panchayats regarding Irregularities in distribution of village common land.
Addressing the media, Phoolka said there have been numerous instances of atrocities against Dalits during the last decade. According to NCSC data, the number of total complaints with the Commission increased from 651 in 2007 to a staggering 12834 during Akali regime.
Phoolka said earlier the Gunda elements of villages backed by Akalis used to commit these atrocities, now the Congress have started doing the same. He said it is a matter of ensuring Constitutional rights of Dalit population in the state. Therefore, it is needed to constitute a Special Task Force to handle the cases of atrocities against Dalit community as the police remains under the influence of local political leadership and this political leadership is primarily responsible for such atrocities.
AAP delegation also met the Director Rural Development and Panchayats in regards to irregularities in distribution of village common land. AAP leaders said that disputes in the past have arisen because of defected system of auctions and allotment of Shamlaat deh land in villages. It has also been noticed that the political leadership want their cronies to grab the best land and give barren lands to Dalits. There are even incidents of violence against Dalits when people of SC community confront general category by asserting their right on common land allocation.
