New Delhi: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Monday congratulated Charanjit Singh Channi on being appointed as the new Chief Minister of Punjab, however called it a poll gimmick for the upcoming Punjab assembly elections.
"I congratulate Charanjit Singh Channi on becoming Punjab CM. It would have been better if he had been appointed as CM earlier. Channi's appointment as CM a few months ahead of Punjab assembly elections appears to be a poll gimmick," BSP Chief Mayawati said, as quoted by news agency ANI.
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Further in her address to the reports, Mayawati hit out at the Congress over Punjab in-charge Harish Rawat’s reported statement wherein he claimed that the next assembly election in the state would be contested under leadership of a non-Dalits.
"I have also come to know through media that the next Punjab assembly elections will be fought under the leadership of a non-Dalit. This means that Congress still does not fully trust the Dalits. Congress is also scared of the SAD-BSP alliance in Punjab." Mayawati said.
On Monday, Charanjit Singh Channi took oath as the 16th Chief Minister of Punjab. Along with Channi, two Deputy Chief Ministers Sukhjinder Randhawa and Om Prakash Soni took the oath.
Charanjit Channi has become the first Dalit Chief Minister of the state. He is considered a close confidant of Sidhu. It is to be noted that the 49-year-old has become chief minister with less than six months to go before the assembly polls in Punjab.
The move to appoint Channi, who belongs to the Ramdasia Sikh (Chamar) community, the next chief minister assumes significance as the assembly elections will be held in Punjab next year.