Bajwa supports Dalits’ stir in Sangrur villages
Tuesday, 01/07/2014
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CHANDIGARH: Punjab Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa, on Monday extended support to the agitation by Dalits of Balad Kalan and other villages in Sangrur district and demanded immediate withdrawal of cases registered against 41 members from the community and justice in the auction of village shamlat land reserved for the Scheduled Castes.
Dalits in several villages of this district have been agitating against fraudulent auction of panchayat land reserved for SCs.
Bajwa said the police had launched an unprovoked lathicharge on Dalits of Balad Kalan who were protesting against the high reserved price for 478 bighas of panchayat land reserved for them.
He said the demand was justified as the price was beyond their reach. He also supported the demand for the cancellation of the auction.
He called upon the government to release all Dalits who were remanded in judicial custody after their arrest.
He said the highhandedness of the police and the civil administration was evident from the fact that three Dalit members of the panchayat had submitted their resignations.
He said a similar agitation had been going on at Matoi village in Sangrur district, where six Dalit girls had formed the Ekta Club to fight for their rights over land and other issues.
