Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 19: Some Sikh organizations have contradicted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement on Sikhs of JK in book “Modi And His Govt’s Special relation with Sikhs”.
While addressing a press conference, S Balvinder Singh, President Sikh Progressive Front along with S Manjit Singh, Gen Secretary; S Harmohinder Singh, President Displaced Kashmiri Sikh Conference and others, hailed some of the achievements, mentioned in the book released by him on November 25, but contradicted the claim with regard to status of Sikhs in J&K.
“When PM proudly announced that his Government has protected the rights of Sikh community of JK, it is quite contrary to the ground realities to the status of Sikhs living in the UT of JK,” they said and listed the latest and glaring example of the discriminatory attitude of the Government as evident from the Circular issued by Relief & Rehabilitation Commissioner (M) J&K vide No. 03 of 2020 Dated 01.12.2020 as per which 1997 Divisional and District cadre posts in various departments under PM Package for Migrant Kashmiri and Non Migrant Kashmiri Pandits have been advertised but not for the Non Migrant Sikh youth, those who stayed back in the Valley despite large scale killings of their community members.
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They further alleged that another discriminatory attitude of the BJP- PDP alliance came to fora in the year 2017 when with the intention to debar the educated youths of Sikh community from the package of special drive for non migrant Kashmiri by amending rules of SRO 412 dated 30.12.2009 and new SRO 425 dated 10.10.2017 was issued and thereby added a clause stating that Non Migrant means “Kashmiri Pandit” and thus debarred the Sikh youths of non migrant category from all benefits extended to Kashmiri Pandits.
“Moreover, while constituting JK Public Service Commission the present UT administration, under direct control of MHA, deceived the Sikh community by not including their member in it which was continuously been there in the PSC since its inception,” they added.
S Manjit Singh said that once again the community was totally neglected when Punjabi language was not included in the JK Official Language Bill 2020.
S Janak Singh, Rajinder Singh, S T P Singh, S Sharanjit Singh Shunty, S Iqbal Singh, S Jasvinder Singh were also present in the press conference.
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