Chandigarh: Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh on Thursday hit out at senior Akali leader Virsa Singh Valtoha, saying no one has right to use "derogatory language" against a Dalit and demanded registration of an FIR against him. Amarinder also demanded his immediate arrest.
"No one has right to use derogatory language against a Dalit. The language used by Valtoha is absolutely wrong. This is against the Constitution, against the law. A case must be registered against him and he must be arrested for using derogatory words," he told reporters.
The former Chief Minister was asked to comment on Congress MLA Tarlochan Soondh's alleged act of hurling a shoe towards the ruling benches in the state Assembly on Wednesday in retaliation against the "derogatory language" used by Valtoha against members of his caste.
"Valotha's language has hurt and outraged the entire Dalit community," Amarinder said.
The shoe had landed just short of where Punjab Cabinet Minister Bikram Singh Majithia was seated in the Assembly on Wednesday.
Asked if he supported Soondh's action, he replied, "I am not for these things (shoe being hurled in this manner). I have always opposed such things. But when you are called a derogatory word and somebody loses temper, sometimes such things happen, but that is a unfortunate thing".
"I don't like this at all, nevertheless, somebody getsangry sometimes. But what about action against Valtoha, he has broken Constitution, why is he not being booked," he said.
The brief Monsoon session, which ended yesterday on an acrimonious note, saw an unprecedented sit-in by Congress MLAs on the floor of the House for two nights which started on Monday evening after the no-confidence motion moved by the opposition party was defeated.
The state Assembly had yesterday witnessed noisy scenes, with agitated opposition Congress members demanding that a debate on no-confidence motion be held.
"When you ask for a discussion on the law and order problem and on no-confidence motion and when the Speaker admits it, then he is duty bound to see that the discussion takes place. When he was not giving time, what were the options left," he said.
He was speaking on Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal's comment that the three days of the session had been the worst in his 60-year-long political career after ruckus by the opposition.
Amarinder, who was flanked by former CM Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, senior leaders Ambika Soni and Lal Singh, also rubbished Valtoha's charge that some Congress MLAs who spent nights in the House, had "consumed liquor and meat" in the Assembly. "All these things are baseless," he said.
Lal Singh said, "The government was not allowing even medicines and other essential items needed by our MLAs who were inside and now they are talking rubbish to defame us."
