Sun Jan 19 20:29:18 UTC 2025: **Congress Leader Urges Delhi Dalits to Reject AAP in Upcoming Assembly Elections**
NEW DELHI, January 20, 2025 – Former Congress MP Udit Raj, himself a Dalit, has called on the Dalit community in Delhi to reject the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the upcoming Assembly elections. Raj accused AAP of being “anti-Dalit,” citing the exclusion of Valmiki and Ravidas temple priests from a government scheme providing monthly honorariums to religious leaders. A protest by these priests is planned for January 20th at Jantar Mantar.
Raj criticized AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal for failing to deliver on promises made to the Dalit community over the past 10 years, including the lack of a caste census and the failure to fill thousands of vacant government positions that could have benefited Dalits. He also highlighted the non-regularization of temporary employees and the broken promise of a Dalit Deputy Chief Minister in Punjab. Raj further noted the absence of Dalit representation among AAP’s 11 Rajya Sabha MPs and the exodus of Dalit leaders from the party. He accused Kejriwal of hypocrisy, questioning his commitment to Ambedkar’s ideology in light of his silence on the caste census issue.
First Piper 