Sikh community ignored in job package by GOI: APSCC

Srinagar: All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee (APSCC) has expressed concern over the sidelining of the community in the job package announced by the Government of India for the minorities of the union territory of Jammu & Kashmir. The Committee has also lamented that issues confronting the community have not been resolved so far.In a statement he added that the same was conveyed by a delegation of APSCC to the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha during a meeting in Srinagar on Monday. The APSCC delegation was led by its Chairman Jagmohan Singh Raina. He added that it is quite disappointing and disgusting that a particular minority community is being given the jobs with the members of other communities being left out of the same.“Although the package was announced for all the minority communities, but the government chose a particular minority for the job package. This has to be stopped and until the broader contours of the job package are not known nobody should be given a job under the package,” said APSCC Chairman in a press release.Raina also mentioned that since Article 370 has been abrogated from Jammu & Kashmir there is no point in delaying the implementation of National Minority Commission and its recommendations. He said that had the Commission been implemented in letter and spirit in Jammu & Kashmir, the unemployment problem of the community would have been solved.The APSCC Chairman stressed that during the meeting strong resentment was shown towards the non-representation of Sikhs in statutory bodies like Public Service Commission (PSC). He said the LG assured the delegation that the community would be given representation as and when any vacancy crops up.“During the meeting we raised the issue of Punjabi language as well and asked for the introduction of language in a legal manner. It is a well established fact that delay in this process has led to the sidelining of the community and it would not be tolerated for long. Since the Punjabi language is attached with the community members time has come to take bold steps in this regard,” said Raina.The APSCC Chairman said that during the meeting the Gurudwara Endowment Act also came up for discussion and it was impressed upon the LG to introduce the same on the pattern of one in vogue in Delhi. He said the present Gurudwara Act is no more relevant and needs to be replaced by a vibrant one. He said the process of Gurudwara elections should be kept on hold for the time being with the administrators being asked to look after the affairs of the Gurudwaras.  Besides Raina, the APSCC delegation comprised of Principal Naranjan Singh Tral-Pulwama, Dr. Jaipal Singh Bali-Baramulla, Sant Singh-Budgam, Indumeet Singh and Tarlok Singh (Babu).