Chandigarh, September 9
Supporting the state-level strike by the contract workers and outsourced workers of Punbus, PRTC and Punjab Roadways, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) senior leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Harpal Singh Cheema alleged that the Congress government wants to eliminate the government transport agencies with the intention of encouraging the private bus mafia.
In a statement issued from the party headquarters here on Thursday, Harpal Singh Cheema said to promote the private transport mafia in Punjab, the Congress government was sinking the fleet of government transport in the same way as the previous Badal government. “Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has reneged on his promise; he had made by holding Sri Gutka Sahib in his hands before the elections, of cracking down on the transport mafia of the Badals,” he said.
Cheema further said, “There are still a number of buses operating on a single transport mafia permit, thus causing huge losses to the state exchequer.” He said that Captain Amarinder Singh along with the Badals had destroyed the Punjab Roadways and Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) which had deprived thousands of youth in the state of government jobs and government transport services in remote rural areas have come to a complete standstill.
The AAP leader said that demands like regularisation of striking workers of Punjab Roadways, Punbus and PRTC, addition of 10,000 new buses in the government fleet and reinstatement of dismissed workers in minor cases were legitimate. Cheema said the Congress government’s claim of providing government jobs to the youth were far away; even the contract employees were not regularised. “The government should immediately regularise contract and outsourced workers who have been working for meager wages for a long time,” he added.
Taking a dig at Captain Amarinder Singh, Harpal Singh Cheema said that Captain should resign from the post of Chief Minister for not fulfilling his promises made to the roadways workers. He alleged that senior leaders of the ruling party were also involved in the transport mafia. Cheema said with formation of the AAP government, the government transport would be transformed on the lines of Delhi government and regular recruitment will be arranged by stopping contract recruitment.
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