Chandigarh, August 2
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab senior leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Harpal Singh Cheema said while the Congress government which came to power in Punjab by raising the expectations of the people with written promises has disappointed every section of the state; it has also gone beyond the bounds of ruthlessness and insensitivity towards the disabled. The latest example of this is the ongoing struggle of the disabled in Chandigarh, he said.
In a statement issued from the party headquarters here on Monday, Harpal Singh Cheema said the disabled persons of the state have been compelled to stage a protest near the official residence of the Punjab Chief Minister for the last seven days over their long pending legitimate demands; but neither the Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, nor any Congressmen considers it necessary to take up their matter.
Cheema said the tragedy of the disabled was that the disabled protesters while facing obstacles, use to struggle and crawl from Gurdwara Sahib in Nayagaon everyday to reach the check post near the Chief Minister’s residence, from where they were picked up by Chandigarh Police and dropped off at Sector 25 Rally Ground. From there, the protesting warriors’ struggles back to Gurdwara Sahib in Nayagaon to spend the night. Crawling on the streets every day causes injuries on their hands, feet and knees, but the ruthless and careless Congress government does not care, which is reprehensible and shameless and does not suit the ruling party.
Harpal Singh Cheema while advocating for the demands of Disabled Welfare Union Punjab along with all concerned organisations on behalf of the AAP, said the Punjab Government should immediately accede to all the legitimate demands of about 8 lakh disabled persons in the state; so that this section can carry the burden of its responsibilities on its own without depending on anyone.
Cheema asked the Captain government to file an affidavit in favor of the disabled in the ongoing case in the High Court against the neglect of the disabled during the recruitment by the SAD-BJP government. “At the time of recruitment on contractual basis, outsourced and DC rates, 4 percent quota reinstatement for the disabled should be issued and the retirement age of the disabled employees should be raised to 65 years,” he said.
Cheema said in addition to this, the education scholarship for the disabled children and the living allowance of the disabled person should be made Rs 4,000 per month, raising the transport allowance of the disabled to Rs 3,000 along with bus fare of the disabled should be waived and the income limit should be abolished while providing facilities to the disabled. He said if this Congress government did not accept the demands of the disabled like the previous Badal government; then with formation of the AAP government in 2022, all their issues would be resolved on priority basis.
