Punjab, UT staff committee protests outside FM’s office

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, November 15

Punjab and UT Employees’ Joint Action Committee on Thursday staged a protest outside the Finance Minister and Bathinda (Urban) MLA Manpreet Singh Badal’s office in the city.

The organisations, which were present during the protest, were subordinate service federation’s class four government employees union, Punjab, PSEB, paramedical, mid-day meal, anganwari and others. They gathered at Children’s Park.

They staged a protest and raised slogans against the Centre and state government, after which they took out a protest march in the city up to the Finance Minister’s office holding black flags in their hands.

The march was headed by Sajan Singh, Darshan Singh Labana and Lachman Maluka. They said the Modi government’s demonetisation and Capt Amarinder Singh government’s high inflation had broken the back of the common man. Due to such moves, farmers are committing suicides under the pressure of debt and every section of traders, farmers, employees and others are on roads staging protests, they added.

They staged a protest for around two hours outside the Finance Minister’s office and raised slogans, demanding that their pending instalments of allowance should be released at the earliest. They also demanded that jobs of contractual employees should be regularised.

The protesters were seen carrying placards on which slogans were written. The protesters also raised slogans, “Roko mehngayi, nahi ta tuhadi shamat aayi” during the protest.

Thereafter, Manpreet Badal’s PA accepted a memorandum from the protesters.

The organisations also condemned the decision of the state government to cut the salaries of teachers and announced that all organisations would gather in Chandigarh on November 20 at a convention and would launch a hunger strike after discussion.