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Meeting with Sidhu: Dalit MLAs demand due share to community in party, govt
Also press for implementation of 85th Amendment that will pave way for faster promotions to SC employees
Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday held a meeting with MLAs belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC) community during which several of them sought the implementation of the 85th Amendment to the Constitution as well as due representation to the community in the party and government in the state.
The meeting was convened by newly appointed state chief before the party’s long-awaited revamp of the organisational set up for feedback from SC ministers and legislators on issues faced by the community in the state. At the meeting, several MLAs pressed for the implementation of the 85th Amendment that will pave the way for faster promotions to SC employees and a promotion roster separate from that of the general category for them.
The MLAs, several of whom have been grumbling from time to time about neglect and lack of adequate representation, sought due share in the party’s organisational set up, state cabinet and government bodies, besides raising pending poll promises, said two party leaders present at the meeting.
They said the state government’s decisions on waiver of ₹590 crore loans under the farm debt waiver scheme for labourers and the landless farming community and the proposed Bill announced by chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh for the SC Sub Plan (SCSP) in the annual budget in proportion to their population were also appreciated.
At 31.94%, Punjab has the highest percentage of SC population in the country and parties are going all out to woo this segment before next year’s assembly polls in the state.
Gill MLA Kuldeep Singh Vaid said that the 85th Amendment had been implemented in most other states but the bureaucracy was proving a stumbling block in Punjab. “There should be due representation in recruitment. We should have 5-6 ministers in the cabinet,” he said.
Social security minister Aruna Chaudhary said the meeting was held to prepare for the 2022 assembly elections. “The government’s achievements and all issues, including those related to the SC community, and the government were discussed,” she said, refusing to go into specifics.
Congress working president Sukhwinder Singh Danny said the meeting was held to gather feedback from MLAs who gave valuable inputs and suggestions regarding the organisational set up and issues that require attention from the government.
“The PPCC president has assured to address these issues, besides taking up with the chief minister the ones that require action from the state government, at the earliest,” said the MLA, who set up the meeting that was attended by at least 17 MLAs.
Cabinet minister Charanjit Singh Channi was among those who were not present. A party statement said another meeting will be held next week for further discussions on the party’s vision for the community.
Amritsar West MLA Raj Kumar Verka stressed on better coordination between the party and government with the former acting as a bridge with the workers. Raising the issue of budget allocation, another MLA said that only 9% of funds allocated for SCs were being spent. Earlier, Sidhu held detailed deliberations with Congress leaders and workers from Mohali, Rupnagar, Fatehgarh Sahib and Malerkotla districts.
