The ‘bhaiya’ controversy is like the Black issue in the United States and reflected an institutionalised social bias against migrants, Lok Sabha member and senior Congress leader Manish Tewari said on Friday.
His comments come a day after Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi was forced to clarify that his remarks about not letting “bhaiyas” from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Delhi to enter Punjab were distorted and taken out of context.
“De-Horse Politics- The Bhaiya controversy is like the Black issue in the US. It is reflective of an unfortunate systemic and institutionalised social bias against migrants stretching back to the inception of the Green Revolution,” Mr. Tewari said on Twitter.
‘Discrimination’
In a series of tweets, the Congress MP shared his personal experience of discrimination because of surname.
“At a personal level despite my mother being a Jat Sikh and my father being the foremost exponent of Punjab - Punjabi- Punjabiyat who laid down his life for Hindu- Sikh amity because of my Sir name it is said behind my back Eh Bhaiya Kithon Agha [Where has this bhaiya come from] peppered with the choicest expletives in Punjabi - We have to root it out,” he stated.
“Such thinking should have no place in the Secular ethos of Punjab grounded in the idiom - Manas Ki Jaat Sabhe Ek Pechan [The human race is one],” he added.
In Priyanka’s presence
On Tuesday, with Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra by his side at a roadshow in Ropar, Mr. Channi referred to Ms. Vadra being a Punjabi “bahu” and went on to say “bhaiyas” from U.P., Bihar and Delhi want to rule Punjab but they won’t be allowed to enter. Ms. Vadra, who is also the Congress in charge of U.P., was seen laughing and applauding Mr. Channi.
As the comment kicked up a political storm, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar attacking Mr. Channi, the Chief Minister claimed that his statements was being ‘misconstrued’ as he didn’t refer to migrants but a few individuals who want to disturb the State.
Beyond Mr. Channi’s clarification, Mr. Tewari’s latest also shows the divide within the Congress in the poll-bound Punjab where the ruling party is facing a challenge from the Aam Aadmi Party.
