UT cops open water cannons on AAP stir against Bajwa’s remark

Chandigarh: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) functionaries and workers, led by cabinet ministers, faced water cannons when they tried to march towards the residence of Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa over his alleged objectionable remarks against Punjab PWD minister Harbhajan Singh ETO. AAP workers also arranged a traditional brass band (band-baja) as a symbolic retort to Bajwa's comments. Chandigarh Police later detained the AAP leaders, including ministers Harpal Singh Cheema and Mohinder Bhagat. Earlier, AAP leaders began their protest from the MLA's hostel in Sector 4, where there was heavy police deployment to prevent them from heading towards Bajwa's Sector 8 residence. AAP asked Bajwa to tender an apology for his remark.
The water cannon was used when AAP members tried to breach the barricades. The protest was led by ETO, his wife Surinder Kaur, Cheema, Balbir Singh, Bhagat, Ravjot Singh, and MLAs Amansher Singh, Kuljit Singh Randhawa, Inderbir Singh Nijjar, Neena Mittal, Labh Singh Ugoke, and Inderjit Kaur.Bajwa had made the remark during a Congress rally in Jandiala on Friday. In a viral video, Bajwa referred to Harbhajan Singh as a "band vajaun wala" (band player), adding that Congress will take him to task, "ehda band asin vajaavange", when they return to power. The AAP leadership termed the remark a "casteist slur" and "a direct insult to the dalit community". Addressing the protesters, ETO said, "Mocking someone's father's source of livelihood is shameful. My father was a band master who educated his children through sheer hard work. I studied in a govt school and reached here on the basis of my own merit. Bajwa sahib is saying that ‘we will play the band of a band player's son.' We worked hard. This insult is not just mine, but of every poor family that educates its children through honest earnings."He alleged that Bajwa could not digest the fact that chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann's cabinet had six dalit ministers from ordinary homes. "I am pursuing a PhD from Panjab University. There are 163 govt schools in my constituency, and AAP launched an education revolution to eliminate the gap between the children of the poor and the rich," he added.Targeting state Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, ETO said on one hand, Congress leaders spoke about law and order, but on the other hand, in Congress rallies, the opposition openly issued threats.Cheema added opposition parties, including Congress, Akali Dal and BJP, promoted dynastic politics, where only a few families ruled. "AAP broke this tradition by bringing educated youth from ordinary homes into the assembly and the cabinet," he said.Minister Balbir Singh also accused the Congress leaders of having an "anti-Dalit and anti-working-class mindset". In a video message, Surinder Kaur, wife of Harbhajan Singh, criticised both Bajwa and Warring for their comments.