Religion, caste don't stand in way if someone is capable of leading state, says Tewari amid Punjab Congress crisis
Jul 17, 2021
New Delhi [India], July 17 : Amid the power tussle within the Congress Punjab unit, party leader Manish Tewari on Saturday said religion and caste do not stand in way if someone is capable of leading state.
His remarks came in response to BJP national Spokesperson RP Singh's statement on Twitter "why we can't have a Majhbi Sikh from a rural background as CM of Punjab".
"Fine balance between social equity and merit essential. Tokenism does the greatest disservice to the cause of social justice. Great Nations are built by Meritocracies. If Dalit, Hindu/ OBC is capable of leading the state on merit then Why Not? Religion/ Caste not stand in way RP Singh," tweeted Tewari.
In response to Punjab's demographic composition on Friday, RP Singh said, "Why can't we have a Majhbi Sikh from a rural background as CM of Punjab. Congress, BJP, Akali Dal- let's see who will give Punjab a CM from the Scheduled Caste community."
A power tussle in Punjab Congress has been going on for the past several weeks after Sidhu openly led a rebellion against Chief Minister Amarinder Singh over several issues.
Tewari shared the demographic composition of Punjab and said that the state is both progressive and secular.
"Demographics of Punjab'- Sikhs: 57.75 per cent, Hindus: 38.49 per cent, Dalits: 31:94 per cent (Sikh & Hindus). Punjab is both progressive and secular...But balancing social interest groups is key to equality," he tweeted on Friday.
