Chandigarh, 8 December
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab’s MLA and State President of Youth Wing Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer accused the ruling Congress party of failing to deliver on its election promises and deceiving Home Guard personnel who are making significant contribution to law and order in the state. He appealed to the Chief Minister Mr. Charanjit Singh Channi to fulfill the election promise of Congress party and to accept the demands of the Punjab Home Guard personnel to honor their sacrifices.
In a statement issued from the party headquarters on Monday, MLA Meet Hair said, “Punjab Home Guards have been working closely with the Punjab Police for the last 30-32 years to maintain law and order in Punjab. Thousands of these jawans have sacrificed their lives during emergency in Punjab. But no Punjab government has ever taken notice of their welfare in old age or future,” he said. Congress had mentioned the promise to regularize them and grant facilitie similar to Punjab Police personnel, in their 2017 manifesto too.
Mr. Hair said that it is very unfortunate that the Congress party, like other promises, had also forgotten their promise to make Home Guards permanent. He added that the Congress government has not regularized the Home Guards nor has it ever taken notice of them.
The AAP leader said that what could be more embarrassing than the fact that the Home Guards in Chief Minister Channi’s own district Ropar have been holding a dharna at Solkhian Toll Plaza (Ropar) on Ropar-Chandigarh road for the last 4 years and But Mr. Channi, who pretends to be the Chief Minister of the people, does not see these homeguards struggling in their old age.
Mr. Hayer said that the demands of the Home Guard personnel are justified that the Punjab Government should regularize about 13000 Home Guard personnel serving in the state, provide pension and other benefits for 2,000 retired personnel on the pattern of police. MLA Meet Hair assured the struggling jawans of Homeguard that if the Congress did not live up to its election promise, then Aam Aadmi Party government would deliver on it in 2022.
