Officials double ‘bribe’ for us: NRIs

Rachna Khaira

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, February 20

Non-resident Indians (NRIs) today alleged that the rates of bribe becomes double when the government officials know about their NRI status. They have come to Jalandhar to attend the first NRI meet organised by the Congress government since it came to power in the state.

“We have to hide our identity of an NRI in front of officials as they double their ‘sewa’ rates immediately after knowing our status. Despite charging us repeatedly and enormously, they put our jobs on hold for many years,” NRI GS Gill from Canada told Deputy Commissioner Varinder Sharma, who was chairing the meeting.

To this, Sharma asked the NRIs present there to name the officials who had sought money from them. He also asked the NRIs to refrain from offering bribe to officials as it amounted to crime on their behalf as well.

The NRIs accused the state government of being unable to address any of their concerns in its one year of rule. Some NRIs also accused the state government of hijacking the Punjab NRI Sabha and its property.

According to the sabha’s former president Jasveer Singh Gill, it has been three years since the sabha is running without a president. “The sabha was created by NRIs to constitute a platform to address their concerns back home. The spacious office of the sabha was constructed from the NRIs’ money collected as membership fee but some caretaking officials are using it and the vehicles for purposes other than the welfare of NRIs,” claimed Gill.

Another NRI Harsimrat Kaur from the UK, too, supported the demand of holding the NRI Sabha elections and to hand over the sabha back to NRIs. “We have demanded the state government to immediately call a general house meeting to constitute an executive team, which will immediately take over the reins of the sabha in its hands,” said Harsimrat.