Bant declines AAP’s offer to honour himon Ambedkar jayanti

Bathinda: Dalit icon Bant Singh Jhabbar has declined an offer of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi for honouring him on the 125th birth anniversary of Bhim Rao Ambedkar. Apparently with an eye on the assembly polls in Punjab, which has over 30% dalit population, AAP's Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government wanted to get Bant Singh onboard.
A mascot of dalit struggle and empowerment across India today, Bant was subjected to brutal onslaught a decade ago which led to amputation of his arms and a leg but he continued to fight for justice.He declined the AAP offer claiming that the party wanted to reap political dividends.
AAP MP Bhagwant Mann had contacted Bant and told the latter to accompany him to Delhi for the function where he would have been honoured by the AAP government. Bant, who is associated with Left outfit CPI(ML) Liberation, declined the offer.
On January 22, Bant was honoured at the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) where his biography ‘The Ballads of Bant', written by a Chandigarh-based writer was also released. Bant is a staunch follower of late dalit revolutionary poet Sant Ram Udasi and recites his poems often.
"I am fighting for the causes of dalits and poor sections of the society for over a decade. For it, I had to lose my limbs in January 2006. However, never in the past AAP cared to approach me and showcased any love for dalits. It is only now when elections are round the corner and every political party is eyeing dalit votes, AAP offered to honour me. I found it a political gesture so I declined the offer," Bant told TOI on Thursday morning before heading to Jalandhar to attend a conference on the occasion of Ambedkar's birth anniversary."I have no problem with AAP but the way it wanted to use me as a mascot it is not acceptable. I had been to Jaipur, Mumbai, Delhi and many other places across India where various organizations honoured me the past but nowhere there was any political agenda. I never wanted politics in my case and I don't even allow CPI(ML) Liberation, with which I am associated, to used me for political purposes," he said.
On January 5, 2006, some residents of Bant's village Burj Jhabbar in Mansa district had attacked him after he had ensured jail to four persons who were accused of raping his daughter.
When contacted, Bhagwant Mann denied there was any political agenda behind honouring Bant. "We had heard a lot about Bant's exemplary courage and when Kejriwal was told about it he was anxious to honour him on Ambedkar jayanti (anniversary) and asked me to bring him to Delhi. I contacted Bant but he declined the offer saying his party did not permit the honour by any other political outfit," said the Sangrur MP.