Bikram Majithia backs teachers' demands

Punjab’s former Minister and senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia on Sunday came out strongly in support of the agitating teachers who have been protesting the Congress-led Government’s decision to drastically slash their salaries at the time of regularisation of contractual teachers’ services.

The teachers’ demand for protecting their pay at the time of regularisation of those on contractual assignment is fully justified, he said.

Majithia accused the government of buying out the loyalty of AAP leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) by arranging a clean chit for him in order to withdraw the cases registered against him, “while it was adopting a policy of dangerous and destructive vendetta against teachers in whose hands the destiny of our children rests”.

SAD leader had raised the issue in Punjab Vidhan Sabha, while also demanding immediate withdrawal of all cases registered against the peacefully protesting teachers, and also supporting their demand for pay protection.

“Many of these teachers have been drawing salaries around Rs 50,000 per month during the government headed by Parkash Singh Badal while the present government now wants to force them to accept a basic salary of around only Rs 10,000 — a drastic and unbearable cut of over 75 percent,” he pointed.

Majithia said that the principle of natural justice demanded that the last pay drawn by the teachers, who have been working on contractual assignment for years, must be protected. “It is unthinkable that while the salaries of every other category of employees in the government have been witnessing a rise, the government wants to force the makers of the country’s future to work on one-fifth of the pay being drawn by them in their present capacity,” he added.

He also came down heavily against the government on the non-withdrawal of cases registered against thousands of “peacefully” protesting teachers while at the same time securing clean chits against its ‘political assistants in the Congress’ “B team” — the Aam Aadmi Party.

Majithia alleged that the Congress has struck a quid pro quo with Khaira in a “loyalty buy-out package” to secure his and his party’s unstinted support on all anti-people policies by securing withdrawal of cases against him through a politically-motivated Commission report favouring Khaira.

“Similarly, the government has also arranged withdrawal of cases against Simranjit Singh Mann through a similarly pre-arranged clean-slip from the Commission,” he said.

Notably, members of various teachers’ associations, including Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), Computer Teachers' Union Punjab, Mid-day Meal Officers' Employees Union, Government Adarsh and Model School Employees' Union are agitating in support of their demand for regularisation along with pay protection.