DW BUREAU / chandigarh A day after police stopped the state BJP from taking out a rally against "injustice" towards Dalits, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday accused the party of trying to play politics over caste. "They are trying to divide society on caste lines to promote their political interests," he said in a statement. "I will not let them disturb the peaceful atmosphere of Punjab's at any cost," he said, referring to the opposition party's "futile attempt" to take out the rally "without due permissions." "These divisive tactics will never succeed in Punjab, whose people are happily living together for their collective progress," the chief minister said. Police had on Thursday stopped the BJP from taking out a "Dalit Insaf Yatra" from Jalandhar to the CM's residence in Chandigarh, saying the organisers did not have permission. BJP state chief Ashwani Sharma was among the party leaders briefly detained. The planned yatra was in protest against alleged atrocities on the Scheduled Caste community and over a "scam" in a scholarship scheme for post-matric Scheduled Caste students. Amarinder Singh said the BJP had no moral authority to talk about Dalit rights, which it was "brazenly trampling" wherever it is in power. The Punjab CM said Uttar Pradesh had recorded the highest number of cases in the country of atrocities against the Scheduled Castes in 2018. "Is this your definition of justice for Dalits? Is this what you are offering the SC people of Punjab?" he asked. He said the BJP is indulging in "theatrics" to divert public attention after finding itself totally cornered over the "draconian, anti-farmer and unconstitutional farm laws." He claimed the BJP was rattled over the state government's successful launch of its own scholarship scheme for SC students after the Centre withdrew a similar scheme. He said the BJP with only two MLAs in the state assembly is indulging in "desperate measures" to strengthen its presence in Punjab. The state BJP had demanded a CBI probe into the scholarship "scam" in which Rs 64 crore was allegedly misappropriated. A three-member panel of IAS officers has exonerated minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, whose name had figured in the alleged scam. In response, the SAD chief accused the chief minister of misleading people and playing a "hoax" on farmers in league with the Centre through the bills. The CM in a statement said the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) had taken yet another U-turn on the farm laws. He lashed out at Badal for allegedly repeatedly compromising interests of the farmers with his "brazen lies and petty political games, which were clearly aimed at promoting the Centre's anti-farmer agenda". "In rejecting the state's amendment Bills, which his party had backed in the Vidhan Sabha, Sukhbir has not just exposed his lack of moral scruples but had also echoed the recent statements of various Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders", said the CM in the statement here. "This showed a clear sign of collusion between the SAD and the BJP, suggesting that the entire drama of (party MP) Harsimrat Kaur's resignation from the Union Cabinet and the withdrawal of the Akalis from the NDA was nothing but a total farce aimed at befooling farmers and sabotaging their fight against the central laws," he added. "First you actively and wholeheartedly supported the Centre's malicious farm ordinances, then quit the NDA calling their bills anti-farmer, then indulged in a whole lot of political drama through protest rallies and yatras across the state in purported support of the farmers, then openly voted for the state government's amendment Bills and now rejecting the same," the CM said. On Thursday, Sukhbir Singh Badal, who presided over a core committee meeting of his party here, had said opposition members were shocked to see how the chief minister "defrauded" Punjab by "betraying" the unanimous resolution passed by the assembly. "This resolution mentioned that it outrightly rejected the Centre's acts and committed the state government to declaring Punjab a principal market area. But the bills, which were subsequently brought by the Amarinder Singh government, carried none of these provisions. He is guilty of misleading and betraying the trust of the House," Badal had alleged. (editor@dailyworld.in)