Congress to woo Punjabis with welfare committee, political representation
Tribune News Service
Rohtak, August 13
With the elections to the Haryana Assembly round the corner, the Congress leadership has initiated efforts to woo the Punjabi community, which comprises a substantial chunk of the state’s electors.
The party has decided to hold a state-level convention of Punjabis in Karnal on August 18, where prominent Punjabi leaders will flag the concerns of their community.
On the occasion, the state party leadership is also likely to make some announcements for the welfare of the members of the Punjabi community.
Addressing a joint news conference at Rohtak on Monday, Congress MLA from Rohtak Bharat Bhushan Batra and former Home Minister of state Subhash Batra said the main demands would include the establishment of a Welfare Board or Commission for the Punjabis settled in Haryana and according due political representation to them.
“Punjabi is not a caste, but a culture which includes members of several castes and communities. The Punjabis who left their property, jobs and businesses to retain their religious identity at the time of the country’’s partition have not got their due even in 77 years since that historic tragedy in which lakhs of people lost their lives,” said Subhash Batra.
He demanded Assembly tickets for 25 members of the Punjabi community in the upcoming elections, apart from fielding the community’’s candidates for at least one Rajya Sabha and two Lok Sabha seats in the state.
“Our elders left all their belongings and started from scratch when they moved to this part of the country after the partition. Nonetheless, we have carved a niche for ourselves and never demanded reservation or any other benefit from the successive governments. However, it is high time to address the concerns of the community and get its longstanding grievances redressed,” said the former minister.
The party leadership will be urged to include the aforesaid demands of the Punjabi community in the election manifesto, he added.
Bharat Bhushan Batra stated that Subhash Batra would preside over the Karnal convention and raise the demands of the Punjabi community before former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who will be the chief guest on the occasion.
Questioned about holding such caste-based conventions by the Congress, which claims to be a secular party, the Rohtak MLA said the society had not been able to break the shackles of the caste system.
“We have to admit that we are still regulated and influenced by the caste system and this deep-rooted mindset prevails in our state and society,” said the Congress MLA.
Both Punjabi leaders underlined the plight of the migrated Punjabis who had been allotted small chunks of residential property as part of their rehabilitation in different parts of the state following the partition, but those residential plots were yet to be registered in their names.
They said the BJP regime, which had failed to take any considerable measure for the benefit of the Punjabis during two successive tenures, was now trying to woo the community by holding a convention on August 14.
They also advocated the establishment of a memorial to commemorate the memory of the members of the Punjabi community who got killed during the country’’s partition.
