PATIALA: The General Category Welfare Federation (GCWF) convention strongly criticised the Punjab government’s move to implement the 85th amendment in the state and demanded that a welfare commission for the general category be set up immediately.
The convention of the General Category Welfare Federation was held today at Punjabi University Patiala and was presided over by Sukhbir Pal Singh State President and Kuljeet Singh Ratol, President PSEB unit. The convention was addressed by Shyam Lal Sharma Chief Organiser, Jagdish Singh, Gurdeep Singh Tiwana, Iqwal Singh Sidhu, and others.
The representatives of students, Brahman Samaj, farmers also attended the convention.
Shyam Lal Sharma Chief Organisor of the Federation said that there is a great resentment amongst the general category employees all over Punjab.
He said that the federation is not against the 85th amendment but its benefits should not be extended to rich and super-rich and instead this benefit should go to poor deserving people.
Sukhbir Pal Singh said that in Punjab the number of posts for the reserved category SC/ST employees is already filled up as their share quota and in some departments, their number is more than the share quota. The promotions of SC/ST employees also exceed their share quota at the cost of the general category.
Kuldeep Singh Ratol said that as per supreme court judgment the benefits of the 85th amendment cannot be made applicable to the creamy layer employees.
Jagdish Singh demanded the setting up of a commission for the general category as promised by the Congress party at the time of the last elections.
V K Gupta spokesperson said that the 85th amendment cannot be implemented in the
Punjab as the percentage of SC/ST employees exceeds their share quota limit as per data collected by the Punjab Government. The benefits of the reservation should be given to poor people of SC/ST categories and not to super-rich people.
The convention cautioned s the Punjab Government not to take hasty decisions which have very long implications and cannot be reversed.
Author: Dawn Punjab
