Punjabi community, BJP demand Cong leader ‘Akanksha Negi’s arrest over alleged ‘Pakistani’ remark

Cong leader Akanksha Negi
By ARUN PRATAP SINGHGarhwal Post Bureau
DEHRADUN, 5 Sep: The demand for the arrest of Congress leader Akanksha Negi over her alleged remarks referring to members of the Punjabi community, including Raipur MLA Umesh Sharma Kau, as “Pakistanis” has intensified. BJP leader and executive member of Punjabi Mahasabha, Kunwar Japendra Singh has given an ultimatum of 48 hours to the Dehradun Police to ttake action. Members of the Punjabi community have also approached the Dehradun police, seeking investigation and legal action over material circulated on social media.
Kunwar Japendra Singh, BJP state spokesperson and executive member of the Punjabi Mahasabha, alleged at a press conference at the Press Club, Dehradun, that Negi had made the objectionable remarks during an event and that her comments had hurt the sentiments of the entire Punjabi community. He alleged that the remarks had been made at the behest of some senior political leaders and demanded that Negi be arrested within 48 hours.
Kunwar Japender Singh
Singh reminded that the Punjabi community had a glorious history and had repeatedly stood against foreign invaders and made enormous sacrifices for the country. He said the community had also suffered the trauma of Partition and that a large number of Punjabi families were forced to leave their homes and migrate to India. He said it is unacceptable to describe members of the community as “Pakistanis” merely because of their Punjabi identity or ancestral background.
It may be recalled that this controversy had flared up, after Akansksha Negi had made this comment in respect of Raipur MLA Umesh Sharma Kau, whose family had migrated to Dehradun after the partition. Kau and members of the Punjabi community have described the alleged remarks as unacceptable. The Punjabi community has pointed out that families which migrated to India during Partition subsequently made Dehradun and Uttarakhand their home and contributed substantially to the social and economic development of the region.
The Uttarakhand Punjabi Ekta Mahasabha has also approached SSP Dehradun and alleged that a video circulated on social media by Akanksha Negi contained misleading, objectionable and indecent remarks concerning Umesh Sharma Kau. The delegation sought an investigation and registration of a case against those responsible.
The issue has also acquired a wider political dimension, with Negi being accused by her critics of attempting to create a divide between the hill and plains communities of Uttarakhand. Her critics have alleged that she has, through her social media presence, promoted a narrow sectarian view regarding people who are not originally from the hills but have settled in Uttarakhand. Negi is not only associated with Congress politics but is also active as a social media influencer, making her statements particularly significant in view of the reach such posts can have.
Singh said no political leader has the right to insult a community which had made sacrifices for the country. He alleged that describing Punjabis as Pakistanis is especially offensive given the history of Partition and the sacrifices made by Punjabi families who migrated to India. He said the Constitution guarantees equality to all citizens and does not permit the denigration of patriotic Indian citizens on the basis of their community or place of origin.
He warned that if the police fail to arrest Negi within 48 hours, he and other members of the Punjabi community would be compelled to launch an indefinite hunger strike. He said the demand is not merely political but concerns the dignity and honour of the entire Punjabi community living in Uttarakhand.
The controversy comes at a time when social media-related disputes involving political figures are increasingly becoming matters of police complaints and demands for investigation. The recent representation by the Uttarakhand Punjabi Ekta Mahasabha before the SSP has added a formal police dimension to the controversy, with the community seeking action over the allegedly objectionable video.
Kau and members of the Punjabi community have maintained that such remarks cannot be accepted and that political differences should not be allowed to degenerate into attacks on the identity of a particular community. The controversy may get intensified further if the police do not respond to the demand for action within the 48-hour deadline announced by Singh.