Education top priority, says Urmar MLA Jasvir Singh Raja Gill

Deepkamal Kaur

Jalandhar, April 1

Newly elected Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from Urmar Jasvir Singh Raja Gill (52) and his family were well settled in the US, but he had the desire to return to his home state and work for the people.

In 2016, he was back in Punjab and got associated with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which fielded him from Urmar the next year. He lost, but he was upbeat.

Gill had gone to the US in 1994 and did several jobs. He worked in stores and drove trucks to eke out a living. After the initial struggle, Gill eventually bought a truck. Now, his family owns 46 trailers in the US. “I spent 22 years of my prime life in the United States. My wife and children are still there, but I returned home in 2016. I always had the desire to work for Punjab. I got associated with the AAP and contested the 2017 elections after giving up my US citizenship,” the AAP MLA says.

Gill lost to Congress’ Sangat Singh Gilzian by 19,000 votes then. The party, however, reposed faith in him in this elections and he trounced Gilzian by 4,200 votes.

“My parents were government schoolteachers. I studied in a government school in Khuda village. So, I am aware that the standard of education needs to be improved,” he says.

“Since 2006, I have been supporting government schools of my area financially. Most of these schools face staff shortage. I started paying salaries to additional teachers hired by school committees so that the studies were not disrupted,” he said. Besides education, Gill says his focus will be on improving healthcare facilities and ramping up sports infrastructure.

SPENT 22 YEARS IN US

Education will be my priority. I studied in a government school in Khuda village. Thus, I am aware that the standard of education needs to be improved. — Jasvir Singh Raja Gill, Urmar MLA