Do not push protesting youth to the wall: Capt

Referring to the critical condition of an Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) teacher,the opposition Congress on Thursday warned the state government against “pushing unemployed protesting youth to the wall.” Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday called for more humane approach in handling protesters. He expressed concern over the deteriorating condition of a protesting Education Guarantee Scheme teacher Zile Singh at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College in Faridkot,who is reported to be struggling for life after multiple organ failure following a long fast-unto-death.

“The sequence of events during the last few days reflect the insensitivity of the state government towards handling the problem. Cane charging is no answer to questions of the unemployed. They want jobs and they are seeking them from the government as they have nowhere else to go,” he said in a press statement while asking Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to be more humane in dealing with the protesters in the state.

“The teacher’s condition was allowed to deteriorate apparently with the sole purpose to discourage others from sitting on a fast unto death Last year,another EGS teacher Kiranjit Kaur immolated herself in Kapurthala in protest against the government apathy. It is quite an alarming situation that the youth were feeling so frustrated that they don’t hesitate in taking their own lives. We need to understand their frustration. Instead,the government is confronting them with lathis and lashes,” he alleged.