"Bhagwant Mann doesn't care about insult of Ambedkar": Punjab BJP President Sunil Jakhar

He further accused Mann of only focusing on protecting the AAP government in Punjab

"Bhagwant Mann does not care about the insult of Babasaheb Ambedkar but only cares about saving AAP's government in Punjab. BR Ambedkar's statue is not just a statue, it is an ideology of the creator of the Constitution... He is the faith of not only the Scheduled castes but the entire nation," he said.

This comes after a youth on Republic Day vandalised the life-size statue of Ambedkar in Amritsar by climbing atop it and striking it with a hammer. A video of the incident had gone viral on social media.

Jakhar further accused Mann of misleading the people of Punjab, questioning how the state government could have allowed such an act.

"This is not a small deed, you are misleading the people of Punjab. How could the government of Punjab bend before the extremists... Bhagwant Mann has lost the right to put photos of Babasaheb Ambedkar and Shaheed Bhagat Singh..." he said.

On Tuesday, Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal sought an apology from the AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal after the incident.

"Kejriwal ji should apologise to the nation. There is an AAP government in Punjab and the statue of Baba Saheb Ambedkar was vandalised in front of everyone. He should apologise," said Meghwal while talking to media on Tuesday.

On January 27, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva also accused the Punjab government of complicity in the act, stating that such a heinous incident could not have occurred without the consent of the state government.

Speaking to ANI, Sachdeva demanded CM Mann's resignation and an apology.

"Without the consent of the government, without the consent of Arvind Kejriwal, such a heinous act could not happen. They have insulted Dalits--the whole of India. Bhagwant Mann should resign and all of them should apologise immediately," he said. (ANI)