“Those officers who do not use Punjabi in their official work should be pulled up. Such powers should also be under the purview of the commission,” said Channi.
Punjab Vidhan Sabha Monday passed a resolution recommending the state government that Punjabi language should be made a compulsory subject in all schools in the state, both government as well as private, till Class 10. The resolution also demanded that courts and government officers should use Punjabi language as a medium of work.
The resolution had been brought by Minister for Technical Education and Industrial Training Charanjit Singh Channi. Several MLAs spoke in support of the resolution, which praised the state government for taking positive steps to promote Punjabi and appreciated a recent notification making it mandatory for all the departments, boards and corporations besides the semi-government institutions to display their signboards in Punjabi language.
Tabling the resolution, the minister said that the state government should form a commission to oversee the proper implementation of use of Punjabi in all spheres of official work in the state. “Those officers who do not use Punjabi in their official work should be pulled up. Such powers should also be under the purview of the commission,” said Channi.
Supporting the resolution, Leader of Opposition Harpal Singh Cheema demanded that a tribunal may be set up so that those violating the law on the Punjabi language could be punished.
Cheema proposed that instructions should be given to all courts in the state to carry all work in Punjabi language. Cheema’s suggestion was later acceded while adopting an unanimous resolution in this regard.
Cheema also demanded a grant of Rs 5 crore to the cash-starved Central Library, Patiala and filling of all vacant posts in the languages department.
Speaking on the resolution, AAP’s Kultar Singh Sandhwan suggested that all members of the House should start putting up their signatures in Punjabi language, adding that the process of honouring the language should start from the House.
Sandhwan also sought immediate filling up of 800 posts of Punjabi translators in the high court, providing of adequate funds to the Languages Department and the Punjab Art Council, saying that Punjabi language should be kept on top in all government and non-government boards and departments.
Sandhwan also said that that AAP will boycott the address of the Governor and the chief minister in future if the same was not made in Punjabi.
Lok Insaf party’s Simarjeet Singh Bains said that the question papers of Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) are set only in English and that the same should also be offered in Punjabi on the lines of the UPSC. He also pointed out that all question papers for recruitment in Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd were also in English.
Shiromani Akali Dal’s Sharanjit Singh Dhillon demanded that the instructions for making Punjabi compulsory should be strictly implemented in missionary schools because he alleged that these schools often resist such moves.