Patiala/Chandigarh, August 6
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today announced 100 per cent government jobs would be reserved for Punjabis once the SAD takes over the reins of the State in 2027 besides asserting legislation would be brought in to award life imprisonment for examination paper leaks. The SAD president was addressing a massive student dharna under the Bhavikh Bachao Morcha initiated by the Students Organisation of India (SOI) outside the Punjabi University here.
Addressing the students, who are agitating to secure the resignations of ministers Harjot Bains and Balbir Singh besides fixing accountability for the ten paper leaks in Punjab affecting ten lakh students, Badal said “the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has committed a grave sin by giving half of all new jobs in the State during the last four and a half years to outsiders. They have done this to expand the AAP footprint in neighbouring Rajasthan and Haryana. I assure you we will institute an Act to reserve all government jobs in Punjab for Punjabis”.
Urging the students to take the lead by creating a mass movement to throw the anti-youth AAP government from power, Badal said “the next SAD government is committing to bringing in legislation to award life imprisonment to all those indulging in examination paper leaks as such unscrupulous people are playing with the lives of our children. We are also committed to taking corrective steps to ensure no paper is leaked in the future”.
Speaking about the exam paper leaks under the AAP dispensation in Punjab, Badal said, “There have been ten exam paper leaks including the latest Pharmacy Officers paper leak last month. Instead of admitting its fault and taking corrective measures to stem this rot by dismissing guilty ministers, the AAP government has gone into a denial mode. Arvind Kejriwal and Guru Dokhi Bhagwant Mann are claiming no paper leak has happened in Punjab even though the chief minister officially admitted in March, 2023 that the Punjab State Teacher Eligibility Test paper was leaked”. He also condemned the manner in which the chief minister was insulting the intelligence of the youth of Punjab by claiming that the Pharmacy Officer paper case was one of cheating when it had been proven that sophisticated devices were used to leak the paper from the examination centres.
Speaking on the need to provide jobs to the youth in both the government and private sector, Badal said, “We will ensure that all private industry, including the IT industry, hire at least 75 per cent Punjabis. We will create conditions for implementing this directive by denying incentives, including cheaper power, to all those who don’t keep 75 per cent Punjabis on their rolls”.
Asserting that the SAD had made a road map to not only provide jobs to the youth but also up-skill them, Badal said “once elected to power we will create a world skill university which will function in collaboration with corporate giants. I have talked with big companies including Tata, Infosys and Mahindra and Mahindra who will skill our youth with the intention of absorbing them in their companies”. He also announced the SAD was committed to producing youth entrepreneurs. “We will provide Rs 10 lakh interest free loans to youth to encourage them to start their own ventures”, he added.
Badal also spoke at length as to how it was not AAP but the erstwhile SAD governments which had modernised and upgraded the education sector in the State. “All private Universities you see today including Chitkara, Chandigarh University, Chandigarh Group of Colleges and Lovely Professional University, were established by us. The SAD also brought in IIT Ropar, IIM Amritsar, AIIMS Bathinda, Baba Farid University, ISB Mohali, IISER and NIPER into Punjab. It also established preparatory academies like the Maharja Ranjit Singh and Mai Bhago institutes which have led to the induction of 500 trainees as officers in the armed forces. Contrast this with education minister Harjot Bain’s statement in the Vidhan Sabha yesterday in which he claimed the AAP government established two new schools, closed down six and presided over the drop out of 6 lakh students from government schools and you will understand how AAP has failed you”, the SAD president added. He also mentioned the minister’s statement in Vidhan Sabha where he admitted that out of 5686 sanctioned posts of professors and assistant professors, nearly 2424 posts were lying vacant.