Sangrur: BSP criticizes AAP for disregarding Palledars’ requests
The AAP administration has come under fire from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) for allegedly “adopting indifferent attitude” toward palledars, or workers at grain markets, who have been protesting for the last three months, calling for the elimination of the contract labor system in foodgrain procurement agencies.
A BSP delegation headed by state general secretary Chamkaur Singh Veer went to the palledars’ dharna location on the Sangrur-Patiala highway, close to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s house, to hear their complaints. The workers gave them an update on their primary demand, which is for the foodgrain procurement agency to abolish their contract labor structure, along with a few other issues.
Chamkaur Singh said that the Aam Aadmi Party had changed into a “khaas aadmi party” and that it had stopped listening to the voice of the ordinary people after speaking with the palledars. He said that although though the Chief Minister was determined to meet with the palledars, he had not given them enough time to discuss their primary demand.
He remarked that the palledars’ demands should be promptly accepted by the Punjab government, who should meet with their action committee. He said that the BSP would arrange dharnas to step up the agitation if the state government refused to accede to the palledars’ demands.
Workers’ leader Mohan Singh claimed that the Congress party had promised to abolish the contract labor system before the party formed the government, but that promise had not been kept by the Congress party or any other political party. As a result, the workers had been staging protests to force their demands to be heard and carried out.
It should be noted that since January 10 in the city, the palledars have been staging pucca morchas to demand the elimination of the contract labor system. The protest was first held in Sangrur’s New Grain Market. Later, in the middle of February, it was moved to the Sangrur-Patiala highway, close to the chief minister’s house.
