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#MainViManjeetSingh: AAP’s Punjab unit starts campaign, seeks Rs 50 lakh compensation for departed PRTC driver
The Punjab government had sanctioned a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for Manjeet’s family.
The Punjab wing of the Aam Aadmi Party initiated the #MainViManjeetSingh (I am Manjeet Singh too) campaign on Friday, seeking Rs 50 lakh compensation for the family of Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) driver Manjeet Singh who died on his way to Hazur Sahib, Nanded, Maharashtra on April 26.
The Punjab government had sanctioned a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for Manjeet’s family.
AAP’s Punjab chief and Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann staged the protest at his residence in Sangrur, leader of opposition and Dirba MLA Harpal Singh Cheema also followed suit.
AAP MLAs and party leaders held protests in their respective residences and held placards demanding ‘justice’ for the ‘corona warrior’.
“Manjeet Singh was on special duty. There should be no discrimination between a cop Harjit Singh, whose hand was chopped off, and Manjeet Singh who died while on duty. The government should award Rs 50 lakh to his family because he was a frontline warrior against the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Mann.
The 38-year-old driver, who hailed from Badbar village of Barnala district, suffered a heart attack while the bus was going to fetch stranded Sikh pilgrims to Punjab from Hazur Sahib amid the nationwide lockdown.
Leader of opposition Harpal Cheema said their party had demanded adequate compensation for the victim’s family because the role of people like Manjeet Singh was also commendable during tough times.
“Manjeet sacrificed his life fighting against coronavirus. We are staging protests across the state seeking justice for Manjeet. The government just announced Rs10 lakh but we demand that his family should be given Rs 50 lakh and his kin should be given a government job,” said Cheema.
