Chandigarh, March 19 Punjab Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa on Thursday demanded the disqualification of AAP MLA Manjinder Singh Lalpura, who was convicted in a 2013 case of sexual harassment and assault.
Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Bajwa, said that along with deputy Congress legislative party leader Aruna Chaudhry, he had written to Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan on March 13, demanding the immediate disqualification of Lalpura.
However, the MLA has not yet been disqualified.
"AAP's claims of promoting Dalit empowerment and women's dignity have been completely exposed. Their silence in this case is tantamount to complicity," he said in a statement here.
A court in Tarn Taran convicted Lalpura, who is a legislator from the Khadoor Sahib Assembly segment in Tarn Taran, along with seven others in connection with the 2013 incident of sexual harassment and assault on a woman. The court had awarded a four-year sentence to Lalpura and the seven others.
Later, Lalpura approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the Tarn Taran court order. However, no relief has been granted to him yet.
Bajwa also criticised the government, accusing it of blocking a resolution seeking the Bharat Ratna for the legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, stating that despite repeated attempts by the Congress, the state Assembly Speaker did not allow it to be tabled in the House.
He said that AAP leaders routinely invoke Bhagat Singh's legacy for political gain, but their actions betray those ideals. "They are nothing but 'fake revolutionaries' who remember Bhagat Singh only when it suits their narrative," he alleged.
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