OBC leaders meet Sidhu, seek better representation in govt

Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu on Tuesday held a meeting with party MLAs and leaders belonging to other backward classes (OBCs) during which several of them sought better representation in the state government and ticket allocation in the assembly polls due early next year

Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu on Tuesday held a meeting with party MLAs and leaders belonging to other backward classes (OBCs) during which several of them sought better representation in the state government and ticket allocation in the assembly polls due early next year.

Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu with party’s OBC leaders in Chandigarh on Tuesday. (Ravi Kumar/HT)

The newly-appointed state chief met them as part of the meetings being held with party leaders before the long-awaited revamp of the organisational set-up of the state unit and to understand bottlenecks in the welfare of state’s OBCs. At the meeting, several party leaders, including MLAs, spoke about the lack of adequate representation in the state government and non-cooperation from district officials, besides raising issues relating to their areas.

Moga MLA Harjot Kamal Singh said that several leaders pressed for representation in the government and various bodies in proportion to their population, adding that OBCs constitute 31% of the state’s population.

Nawanshahr MLA Angad Saini said the issue of resentment among the backward classes over no representation in the state cabinet also came up. A party statement said that nine MLAs were among those who attended the two-hour-long deliberations held by the state unit president during which issues of reservation and labour welfare were also stressed upon. Punjab Congress working president Sangat Singh Gilzian was also present.