AAP demands an immediate release of post-matric scholarship dues worth crores

Sukhmeet Bhasin
Tribune News Service
Bathinda, October 16

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has made a strong exception to the post-matric scholarship—worth crores—for Dalit students across the state.

This has been pending for over three years.

Reacting to Punjab Cabinet decision wherein the state government has given it's not to pay the post-matric scholarship to the beneficiaries at par with Punjab, saying "it would be paid for the next academic session 2021-22," Budhlada MLA Principal Budhram said, that the lopsided decision seems to have been taking in a tearing hurry, as the beneficiaries have not been paid dues worth crores for over three years.

AAP MLA said, that due to the non-payment of the post-matric scholarship dues, the future of more than 1.25 students belonging to the Dalit category was in the doldrums. They have been forced to pull out of various schools and colleges, as they were releasing their degrees due to non-payment of the dues.

Accusing the state government of usurping a whopping scholarship, an amount worth crores, released by the union government released to the state government, the AAP MLA said that the unscrupulous leaders like Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, a Cabinet Rank Minister, who was embroiled in a multi-crore scholarship scam, was responsible behind ruining the careers of lakhs of students.

He accused the government of protecting such tainted ministers, who walk free after committing multi-crore scams and other crimes, sans the scantest fear of the law.

The Budhlada MLA said, that the Congress government in the saddle ‘grabbed’ power in the state by promising the sky to the people of Punjab, adding, that the loan waiver promise remained a paper promise by far, and so we're bringing the drug mafia to its toes within four weeks of assuming power, and bringing those behind the incidents of desecration of Sri Guru Granth Sahib under oath of ‘Gutka Sahib’.

He said the students of a particular category would take it as a breach of contract if they were denied their dues from the time they actually deserve.

Principal Budhram urged Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to revisit the decision, and roll back on cabinet decision and allow payment of scholarship from the current academic session 2020-2021 to enable students of the hassled community to pursue their higher studies under the Right to Education.  

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