Captain Amarinder extends support to agitating Suwidha employees
Author(s): City Air NewsChandigarh, October 31, 2016: As their protest dharna entered its 55th day on Monday, the agitating Suwidha employees got a shot in their arms with Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh coming out in...
Chandigarh, October 31, 2016: As their protest dharna entered its 55th day on Monday, the agitating Suwidha employees got a shot in their arms with Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh coming out in their support.
In a press statement issued here, Captain Amarinder demanded immediate withdrawal of false cases against Suwidha employees who were behind bars since October 14, 2016, when they were lathi-charged and booked under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code in a police crackdown in Muktsar.
“If the Badal government fails to cancel the cases filed against the peacefully protesting employees of the Punjab State Suwidha Employees’ Union, then the Congress will also come out on the streets to join the agitation,” warned Captain Amarinder.
Expressing anguish at the fact that the families of the jailed Suwidha employees had to spend a dark Diwali, out on the road, because of the apathy of the Badal government, Captain Amarinder said such blatant injustice to the common people of Punjab could not be ignored.
The Suwidha employees are protesting against the illegal privatization of the organization, which Captain Amarinder said was obviously a cover-up for the massive bungling of funds that had been taking place under the patronage of Akali leaders. By transferring the employees’ services to private players instead of acceding to their demand for regularization, the Badal government had been trying to push its illogical and unplanned Punjab Sewa Kendra scheme in what appeared to be a clear case of corruption at the highest quarters, the Punjab Congress chief said.
He pointed out that the employees of the Sukhmani Societies had suddenly been served a notice assigning them to M/s BLS International Services Ltd and their subsidiaries. BLS had, in turn, retained RANDSTAD India Private Limited for providing manpower to Punjab Seva Kendras (PSKs), the new name of SUWIDHA.
Captain Amarinder promised a thorough probe into the matter once his party comes to power and added that not only the affected employees and their families but also the common people of Punjab had been adversely affected by the government move. Suwidha was providing a wide range of affordable services to the people, who have now been deprived of the same, he pointed out.
There is clearly a huge scandal in this whole privatization business, which the Congress will go all out to expose, said Captain Amarinder, assuring the agitating employees of his full cooperation in their fight for justice.