Freedom fighters, families up in arms against Badal govt

Tribune News Service

Sangrur, July 4

In protest against non-acceptance of their demands, freedom fighters and their successors are now up in arms against the Badal government

Despite submitting a memorandum to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal more than a year ago, the state government has not fulfilled their demands so far.

A deputation of the Freedom Fighters and Uttaradhikari Organisation, Punjab, today gave a memorandum to the Sangrur Deputy Commissioner, serving an ultimatum on the CM to fulfil their demands by July 17 otherwise they would be forced to protest outside his residence on July 18 in Chandigarh.

The demands include free-of-cost bus pass facility for family members of freedom fighters, exemption from toll, representation to successors of freedom fighters in district-level committees and increase in job reservation to 5 per cent from 1 per cent.

State president of the organisation Harinderpal Singh Khalsa in the memorandum said the CM had been holding Sangat Darshan programmes, but he had no time for those who had got the country freed from the British.

He said they had given a memorandum to the CM more than a year ago, but despite meeting him for four times he had not given time to the organisation for discussing its demands.

Khalsa said in case their demands were not fulfilled by July 17, about 1,000 freedom fighters and their successors would gather at Gurdwara Amb Sahib in Mohali on July 18 and take out a march to the house of the CM and apprise him of their demands. He said in case they failed to get a positive response from the CM, they would announce a statewide agitation on that day.

Two freedom fighters, Nishan Singh (90) and Gurtej Singh (95) and successors of freedom fighters today met the Deputy Commissioner, who assured them that their memorandum would be forwarded to the CM.