Former Punjab Subordinate Services Selection Board member and a senior Christian leader Kanwal Bakshi on Wednesday said the Christians were an economically and socially suppressed community in Punjab.
He said most of the Christians were poor and they had always been exploited by the politicians who used them as their vote bank and had done little for their welfare.
He said even as they were a minority, they formed a strong presence in the state with a strong 20 lakh population.
He said the Punjab Minority Commission, even headed by a Christian, was a toothless body since it was without executive and judicial powers.
Bakshi dared the Chief Minister of Punjab to release a white paper to show what the Minorities Commission had done so far for the minorities.
He asked as what recommendations it had made to the government for the welfare of minorities and what steps were subsequently been taken by the government.
Bakshi said the Christian community in Punjab should recognise people involved in politics, who were using them for their own vested interests. He the community needed to converge under a strong leadership to push for their demands.
They needed to break the shackles of caste system, Bakshi said, adding that he along with his team members would visit the areas with Christian population in the state to make them aware of their political significance.
{{/usCountry}}They needed to break the shackles of caste system, Bakshi said, adding that he along with his team members would visit the areas with Christian population in the state to make them aware of their political significance.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier, Bakshi presided over a Christmas function organised at the Gurdaspur Central Jail and distributed sweets among the inmates.
He felicitated the jail inmates and urged them to observe the teachings of Jesus Christ in their life to make this world a better place to live in.
Deputy jail superintendent Satnam Singh Gill, Gurdaspur Jail Guards Union president Jaswant Singh and jail staffer Mohinder Masih congratulated the jail inmates.