The policeallegedlyused force to remove ETT cadre’s 5994 unemployed teachers spotted at a programme organised by the Balluana unit of the Aam Aadmi Party at the new grain market here last evening.
The protesters were bundled into police vehicles and kept in detention at various police stations. They were released only when the AAP programme was over.
Teachers’ union members Bagga Khudal, Bunty Kamboj, Balihar Singh, Parampal and Ramesh said they had gone to the new grain market to hand over a demand letter to the Punjab AAP president. However, the police removed them forciblyeven though they were sitting in the pandal peacefully. The union has announced to gherao all AAP MLAs and ministers, including Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, till they are allowed to join the service
They said the provisional selection lists for the recruitment of 5,994 teacherswere released on September 1, 2024, but the Education Department had not given them the joining letters. “We have been demanding the appointment letters for long. The posts were advertised in 2022 and the eligibility test conducted on March 5, 2023. Two years have gone by, but the final appointments are still awaited,” they said.
They said on February 12, an official letter was issued for the selectionof stations onFebruary 15 and 16. However, on February 15, the site of the department was hit by some technical problem, and nothing could be achieved. There has been a permanent problem with the servers of government department websites.