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Journalism of Courage
NAWANSHAHR, Aug 9: The combined front of CPI and BSP will organise a protest march here tomorrow against the alleged anti-poor and anti-Dalit policies of the state government, Darshan Lal Jethumajara, secretary, BSP Punjab, said here while addressing a press conference.
He said that atrocities on Dalits had touched an all-time high during the regime of the Badal government. As many as 110 cases of rape and about 170 cases of murder, mostly of Dalits, poor and labour classes, had been reported during the 18-month rule of the present government.
Dalits were being prevented from constructing houses or taking charge of the colonies allotted to them long ago on one pretext or the other in some villages of Nawanshahr, he said. Jethumajra, who was accompanied by district president, BSP, Gurmail Singh Saini, and other office-bearers of the unit, said that the issue of recent hike in bus fares and power tariff would also be raised at the rally to be held after the march in front of the DC office.He demanded 200 units of free electricity per months for the poor irrespective of their caste, in the state.
Demanding the implementation of Mandal commission report in Punjab, the BSP leader claimed that a back-log of about 22,000 vacancies belonging to SC quota should be filled.
Referring to the alleged atrocities against Dalits, he said that while A. S. Karimpuri, general secretary of the party, had been implicated in a false case, Lal Singh Sulhani, vice-president, BSP Punjab, had also been beaten up badly during the recently-held panchayat elections.
Demanding the arrest of the persons responsible for the murder of a Dalit Darshan Ram of Salimpur village during the elections of Village Coop Agriculture Society, Behlur Kalan, Jethumajra warned that BSP would launch an agitation if the culprits were not arrested by August 16.
