Akali Dal hit out Kejriwal govt, its “anti-Punjab” & “anti-Punjabi” attitude

TIL Desk/National/New Delhi-Akali Dal on Tuesday hit out at Arvind Kejriwal government for allegedly not honoring its commitment of raising salaries of part-time Punjabi teachers in the national capital, saying it reflected its “anti-Punjab” and “anti-Punjabi” attitude. Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa said a month after a High Court ruling the Delhi government had announced that it will abide by the court orders and had also published advertisements in different newspapers assuring enhanced salaries to the teachers.

He said on May 11, the Delhi High Court had ordered release of enhanced salaries and one year’s arrears for the teachers. “Since then neither salaries of the Punjabi teachers have been increased nor their arrears released even after a lapse of three months,” Sirsa, General Secretary of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, claimed.

He said the affected teachers have been left with no choice but to approach the High Court as the Kejriwal government had committed “contempt of court”. The teachers concerned were planning to move the court, he said, assuring them all possible legal assistance. He claimed that though the Delhi government had declared Punjabi as ‘second language’ in 2003, yet Punjabi teachers working under the aegis of Punjabi Academy in different schools were given a raw deal by the government.