Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Chandigarh, Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha and the president of the All India Jat Maha Sabha, Capt Amarinder Singh today blamed the Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal for denial of reservation benefits to Jats in Punjab. He said, the onus about the denial of reservation to Jats in Punjab squarely lies on Mr Badal as he was sitting over the decision for the reasons best known to him.
Talking to a delegation of the Jat representatives and newly appointed office bearers from different parts of the state who had come to meet him here today, Capt Amarinder agreed with them that Punjab was the only state in the country which was deliberately withholding the benefits to the poor and deserving Jat population, belonging to both Sikh and Hindu community.
He pointed out, the decision to provide reservation to the Jats was taken by the previous Congress led UPA government and the BJP led NDA government has also upheld it. He said, the state government has to write to the centre so that the reservation benefits could pass on to the people of that particular state. Surprisingly, he remarked, Mr Badal was not prepared to do this much even.
The former Chief Minister also clarified that the reservation is only for the poor and deserving Jats and not the rich ones. “Let me reiterate and clarify once again that the reservation benefits are not for people like me or Mr Badal, but the ordinary Jats who cannot make both ends meet”, he said.
He said, he was surprised as why Mr Badal was sitting over the decision as it could otherwise make the poor Jat students eligible for various jobs and educational institutions under the OBC category. This includes IAS, IPS and other central services, both gazetted and non-gazetted, besides the institutions of technical and higher learning. This is all the more important since unemployment was on the rise in Punjab as there were virtually no jobs.
