Anganwari workers to gherao Manpreet, wife

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, February 15

Staging a protest outside the office of Finance Minister Manpreet Badal for 19th consecutive day today, Anganwari workers threatened that they would begin gherao of the minister as well as his wife Veenu Badal at all the public functions and meetings in the district.

State president of the All India Anganwari Workers Association Hargobind Kaur stated that the union had been hoping for a peaceful way out of the stalemate situation but the workers were irked over the fact that their demands were not being taken seriously.

“We were fooled in the name of a meeting with the minister on February 5 as well. On the first day, the minister delayed taking a decision stating officials from the Social Security, Women and Child Development Department were not present. Next day also the meeting remained inconclusive as the officials didn’t attend. We are sure that we were fooled otherwise how can the officials dare to overlook the minister’s orders to be present for a meeting?” she asked.

The workers added that Veenu Badal was holding public meetings and going door-to-door for knowing the problems of public but was scares of coming to them and listening to their demands. “We have been sitting at the doorstep of their office but the minister is scared of coming to his office. His wife is also not ready to listen our demands. There seems to be no peaceful end to this situation. If this continues, we will be left with no option but to start staging gherao of the minister and his wife wherever they attend public meetings in the district,” Kaur said.

The workers also refuted the allegations levelled against them and stated that their protest was not politically driven. “We have not been instigated by any opposition party to stage protest against the government. We are sitting on protest in favour of our demands. We had raised similar demands earlier as well when the SAD-BJP alliance was in power in the state,” she said.