CM Amarinder responsible for inhuman treatment being meted out to SC students – Sukhbir Badal

(Terming this as an atrocity on the students, SAD President says case be registered against Social Welfare minister as well as FM)

(Says students’ career being spoiled with PU and other govt and private institutions withholding degrees of SC students)

(Asks Dalit community to unite against this injustice)

Chandigarh, April 8 – Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today held chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh responsible for the inhuman treatment being meted out to two lakh Scheduled Caste students who were being disallowed from sitting in examinations and even being denied their degrees because the Congress government had refused to submit their scholarship fee to the educational institutions.

In a statement here, the SAD President said while students were suffering because the Congress government had not released around Rs 500 crore due to SC students on account of the central government’s Post Matric scholarship scheme, 2,000 dalit students of Panjab University were being denied their degrees because the government had failed to reimburse Rs 10 crores on account of the same scheme to the varsity.

Stating that this callous and insensitive behavior amounted to atrocity against SC students, Mr Badal said due cases should be registered against officials as well as the Welfare of SC and BC minister and the finance minister for failing to distribute scholarship amounts to educational institutions. Mr Badal said due action should also be taken by the centre against the Congress government for diverting Rs 270 crore received in February this year for the SC scholarship scheme from the central government. He said besides this there was a backlog of around Rs 250 crore in distribution of this scholarship taking the total amount due to students to more than Rs 500 crore.

Mr Badal also expressed his shock at the denial of degrees to 2,000 SC students of Panjab University which had taken this step after constant reminders to the Congress government to reimburse it Rs 10 crore on account of post matric scholarship for SC students. He said the Punjab government alone was responsible for this state of affairs and that Dalit students would not spare it for spoiling their career. He said besides the Panjab University, other Government Colleges including the Government Mohindra College, Patiala and score of private institutions were withholding degrees of Dalit students.

The SAD president said this was not all. SC students were also being charged admission fee now, something which had never happened during SAD-BJP tenure. He said such anti-people measures had already led to a drop in SC students from three lakh during SAD-BJP tenure to two lakh now.

Stating that the SAD would not allow the Congress government to discriminate against the Dalit community in this manner, Mr Badal said the party would launch an intensive campaign to ensure justice to them. “I appeal to the entire dalit community to unite as one on this issue to ensure the futures of lakhs of our children is not destroyed due to the anti-Dalit policies of the Congress government”. He said the SAD would also take up other issues of the Dalit community including withholding of social welfare benefits including the ‘shagun’ scheme and change in rules which had ensured the community could not avail of 200 free units per month granted to them by the S Parkash Singh Badal led SAD-BJP government”.