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Unemployed teachers end dharna outside minister Singla’s Sangrur residence after 9 months
Lift dharna from outside Singla’s Sangrur residence after administration assured them to take up their demand for a meeting with Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi and quashing of FIRs registered against them during protests
Unemployed teachers associated with at least five unions on Thursday ended their dharna outside the Sangrur residence of cabinet minister Vijay Inder Singla after nearly nine months, expressing hope of getting their issues resolved amid a change of guard in the Congress government in Punjab.
Members of various unions, who started the round-the-clock sit-in on December 31, 2020, called off the protest after the district administration assured them to take up their demand for a meeting with chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi besides quashing of the FIRs registered against them Sangrur and Patiala districts during protests.
The protesters are members of the BEd Teachers’ Union, the 873 DPE Teachers’ Union, the 646 PTI Teachers’ Union, the Unemployed Art and Craft Teachers’ Union, and the Unemployed Multipurpose Health Workers Union, Punjab.
Over the last few months, they would also oppose the minister during his visits to villages in the Sangrur assembly constituency.
Sukhwinder Singh Dhilwan, president, Unemployed BEd Teachers’ Union, said even as the dharna was called off, their struggle for jobs will continue till their demands are not met.
“After changes in the state cabinet, the district administration appealed to us to end the protest as the education portfolio (which Vijay Inder Singla held earlier) has been given to Pargat Singh. We also demand that all FIRs registered in Sangrur and Patiala districts against youths during protests should be quashed immediately,” said Dhilwan.
“If our demands are not met, we will hold a protest at the same place on October 10. Then we will take a call on whether we will stage protests outside the residence of the CM or the new education minister,” he added.
Jagsir Singh, another protester, said in the past nine months they never allowed Singla to enter his residence. “We appeal to minister Vijay Inder Singla to take up our demands with the chief minister and play a key role in resolving the issue,” he added.
Sangrur sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Amarinder Singh Tiwana said the protest remained largely peaceful and the activists did not damage government property. “We will take up their demands with the authorities concerned,” added Tiwana.
