Punjab Cong criticises lathi charge on teachers

Kapurthala, Sep 6 (UNI) The Punjab Congress today condemned the beating up of unemployed teachers in the town yesterday and said that the incident was highly condemnable particularly on the day reserved to honour the teaching fraternity with awards.

"The way teachers were 'lathi' charged, physically man handled and even the handicapped were not spared speaks volumes of the disregard that the Akali's have for human rights and peaceful demonstrations", Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira said in a statement here today.

Mr Khaira sought to remaind Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) acting president Sukhbir Badal of the hue and cry he had raised over a similar incident at Ludhiana last year during the tenure of Capt Amarinder Singh. Last years incident pertains to the man handling of girl students at the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) during a protest at a function of Capt Singh, the then chief minister.

He pointed out that it was the junior Badal who had promised the very same unemployed teachers jobs once the Akali's were voted to power.

Refering to the presence of the junior Badal and his mother, Mrs Surinder Kaur Badal at yesterdays state levele Teachers Day function here, Mr Khaira pointed out that they had no official authority to preside over the function. This was sheer display of extra constitutional authority by Sukhbir Badal, he added.

Mr Khaira demanded an unconditional apology from the SAD leader and a magisterial inquiry to fix responsibility on those police officers responsible for maltreating these teachers.

Meanwhile Punjab Pradesh Congress president Shamsher Singh Dullo criticised the massive increase in the fee structure of MBBS and BDS seats in the state. He demanded that the fee structure be reviewed immediately since poor students are unable to pay such exuberant fees to avail seats for the courses.

UNI