Unemployed BEd passouts hold protest at Bathinda

Bathinda: Demanding release of unemployed BEd passouts, who were arrested by Kharar police a few days ago, the Teacher Eligibility Test Pass Unemployed Union (TETPUU) activists held a protest near Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal’s office in Bathinda on Sunday.

The police, however, thwarted their attempt to burn the effigy of the state government.

The protesters had some altercations with the police. The union activists are holding protest for jobs for some months and have decided to hold a rally in Punjab education minister Vijay Inder Singla’s constituency, Sangrur. TETPUU’s Bathinda unit chief Yudhjit Singh and secretary Tejinder Manwala said some unemployed teachers led by Poonam Rani had gone atop a water tank at Kharar on September 5 and police had arrested a dozen of them and sent them to Ropar jail. “We are demanding their release,” said Yudhjit.

Pardon for activist

Bathinda: Representatives of several unions of farmers, labourers, employees and women have decided to approach Punjab governor V P Singh Badnore on September 11 to ask him to pardon Manjit Singh Dhaner, Mehal Kalan struggle committee member and farmers’ outfit BKU (Ekta Dakaunda) vice-president. His appeal against life sentence was dismissed by the Supreme Court last week. Members of various organizations held a meeting at Barnala on Sunday where they decided to intensify the struggle against upholding of life sentence by the apex court. Manjit, along with Narain Dutt and Prem Kumar, was sentenced to life imprisonment by Barnala district sessions court on March 30, 2005 in a murder case but Punjab governor had granted them pardon in 2007. The Punjab and Haryana high court had set aside the pardon in 2008, but had acquitted Dutt and Kumar. The sentence of Manjit was upheld. The Supreme Court also upheld the sentence of Manjit, directing him to surrender in Barnala court in four weeks.