Chandigarh (Gurpreet Singh): Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Thursday announced that sanitation workers across various Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), municipal councils, municipal committees and nagar panchayats in Punjab have decided to withdraw their ongoing strike after successful talks with the Punjab Government.
Addressing the media after a meeting with representatives of sanitation workers’ unions, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema stated, “A five member delegation from the workers’ 35 member committee held detailed discussions with Cabinet Minister Harjot Singh Bains, senior government officials and me regarding the workers’ demands.”
He shared, “Several demands were resolved during the discussions, while some issues linked to legal and election code related matters require further procedural consideration. The government and union representatives had mutually agreed to form a committee that would examine all pending demands and work towards a permanent and practical solution.”
The minister said, “The government has fixed a one month timeline to sympathetically consider and resolve the remaining issues. After detailed discussions over the last two to three days, all unions agreed to give the government time to address their concerns in a serious and structured manner.”
Responding to media queries regarding Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu calling Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann an “ISI agent,” Harpal Singh Cheema strongly condemned the statement and termed it an insult to the people of Punjab and their mandate.
He said, “This is not just an insult to the Chief Minister but to all 3 crore Punjabis. The BJP has consistently displayed an anti Punjab mindset.” He questioned why BJP leaders remained silent during the previous Congress government when allegations were repeatedly raised regarding the presence of Aroosa Alam at the official residence of the then Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.
Harpal Singh Cheema asked why leaders like Ravneet Singh Bittu and Sunil Jakhar did not raise questions at that time if they were genuinely concerned about national security. He said BJP leaders were now making baseless allegations for political gains.
Replying to another media query regarding the ‘Cockroach Janta Party,’ Harpal Singh Cheema added, “Democracy and the Constitution of India give every citizen the right to form a political party and express their views freely. If young people, students or social groups are raising issues concerning society, they should not be targeted or mocked. Every individual has the constitutional right to express opinions and participate in democratic politics. Suppressing voices and labelling people unfairly is against democratic values.”
Harpal Singh Cheema further said that under the BJP government, attempts were being made to silence dissenting voices and restrict democratic expression in the country.
