Capt questions Badal’s double standards on Jat quota in state

Chandigarh: Former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, who is president of All India Jat Mahasabha, on Monday questioned the double standards of chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on providing reservation to Jats, including the Jat Sikhs, in Punjab.

Addressing mediapersons along with the Sabha secretary general Yudhvir Singh, vice-president Harpal Singh, Punjab chief Kikki Dhillon and Chandigarh president Rajinder Singh, Amarinder pointed out that the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal had passed a resolution seeking reservation for Jats, including Jat Sikhs in Punjab, under the Other Backward Category (OBC), but when it comes to implementation the same government is not doing anything.

He maintained that the Akalis were trying to escape the responsibility by claiming, on the one hand, that it supported reservation for Jats in Punjab, but seemed actually averse to the idea. “Had the government been sincere in including Jat Sikhs in the OBC list it would have taken some initiative as was required of it,” he pointed out. He said it was mandatory for the states, which want reservation, to recommend it to the Centre.

Re plying to a question, Amarinder said the Mahasabha was seeking quota only for those who were living below the creamy layer. He pointed out that tens of thousands of farmers have small land holdings who are barely managing to make ends meet. “When we seek reservation for Jat Sikhs, it is for this category and not the affluent families,” he said.

Source: HT