M A I N   N E W S

Panchayat Secretaries reinstated
Sarbjit Dhaliwal
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 17
As many as 470 Panchayat Secretaries will be given appointment letters by the Punjab Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Minister, Mrs Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, at a function here tomorrow.

These Panchayat Secretaries, who were removed from service on October 12, 2001, had been fighting for the past two years for their reinstatement. They were recruited during the Beant Singh Government in 1995 and 1996 but were removed by the Badal Government following a court judgement. Since then they had been organising dharnas, relay fasts and demonstrations for reinstatement.

What ultimately seemed to have turned the tide in their favour was their threat to organise a dharna in front of the residence of the President of the All-India Congress Committee, Mrs Sonia Gandhi. They had told the Congress high command that they would sit in a dharna in front of Mrs Gandhi’s house if they were not given appointment letters by November 12. Their latest move to take the fight to the Congress high command in Delhi had been to get implemented the Supreme Court judgement in the Balkar Singh and others case. Upholding the plea of Mr Balkar Singh and 51 Panchayat Secretaries, the Supreme Court ordered the regularisation of the services of those employees who had completed 89 days of service. These Panchayat Secretaries were also recruited on an 89-day basis.

As the state government was dilly-dallying on implementing the apex court order regarding the regularisation of their services after reinstating them, these Panchayat Secretaries moved to Delhi to fight for their cause. They met AICC General Secretary Mohsina Kidwai, who told them to postpone the proposed dharna for a few days. They accepted her advice. Mrs Kidwai took up the matter with the Punjab Government but there was no desired response.