Chandigarh: The inauguration of Punjab’s first ‘School of Eminence’ in Amritsar was marred by controversy, with the Opposition accusing AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal of placing Sippy Sharma, the leader of a union of physical training instructors, under house arrest. Kejriwal had referred to Sharma as his “sister” in the run up to the 2022 assembly polls.
Opposition leaders in Punjab shared visuals of policemen at Sippy Sharma’s residence to embarrass the Mann government by highlighting how Kejriwal had convinced her to give up her dramatic protest ahead of assembly polls by promising to fulfil her demands.
Beside Sharma, other members of the ‘646 PTI Teachers Union’ also claimed that they were placed under house arrest in the hours leading up to a political rally to mark the opening of the ‘School of Eminence’ at Chheharta in Amritsar. “This is the badlaav (change) that AAP had promised us,” Gulabh Singh, president of the union, can be heard saying in a video that shows policemen at his residence. Reports have also come to light of members of other teachers’ unions being placed under house arrest in different parts of the state.
Asked for comment, the spokesperson for Punjab Inspector General (IG) Sukhchain Singh Gill’s office told ThePrint that he was not aware of any leaders of teachers’ unions being placed under house arrest.
Members of the ‘646 PTI Teachers Union’ have been demanding appointment letters for more than a decade now. Hired as physical training instructors for state-run schools in 2011, they were later told that the posts for which they were hired had been abolished.
Kejriwal, as part of an extended pre-election campaign, had visited a spot in Mohali in November 2021 where Sharma and two others had been protesting atop an overhead water tank for 47 days.
Communicating with them using a loudspeaker and referring to Sharma as his ‘sister’, Kejriwal had urged her to give up her protest and assured her that the appointment letters for physical training instructors will be a top priority for the government once AAP came to power in the state. It took almost an hour of convincing before Sharma ended her protest and climbed down from the water tank, amid applause from onlookers.
However, Sharma resumed her protest last September after alleging that the AAP government did not fulfil its promise. Accompanied by others, she also met CM Bhagwant Mann and state Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains to press for their demands.
Last month, Sharma addressed a press conference alongside Congress leader and former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi during which she said that the Punjab government informed the high court in a matter related to regularisation of teachers that it had no plans to hire physical training instructors. She also announced during the press interaction her union’s plans to intensify their stir in light of this new development.
Opposition attacks Mann govt
Visuals of Sharma and others being placed under house arrest Wednesday elicited severe criticism from the Opposition in Punjab.
Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa posted the visuals on X and wrote, “This is the reality of these fake revolutionaries. Before the elections Arvind Kejriwal called this lady his sister and today on the first day of his three day Punjab tour he got her house arrested.”
ਝੂਠੇ ਇੰਨਕਲਾਬੀਆਂ ਦੀ ਕਹਿਣੀ ਅਤੇ ਕਥਨੀ ਵਿਚਲਾ ਫ਼ਰਕ…
ਅਰਵਿੰਦ ਕੇਜਰੀਵਾਲ ਦੀ ਮੂੰਹ ਬੋਲੀ ਭੈਣ ਸਿੱਪੀ ਸ਼ਰਮਾ ਜਿਸਨੂੰ ਚੋਣਾਂ ਤੋਂ ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਉਹ ਭੈਣ ਆਖਦੇ ਸੀ ਅੱਜ ਉਸਨੂੰ ਆਪਣੀ 3 ਦਿਨਾਂ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਫ਼ੇਰੀ ਦੌਰਾਨ ਪੁਲਿਸ ਦੁਆਰਾ ਘਰ ਅੰਦਰ ਹੀ ਨਜ਼ਰਬੰਦ ਕਰਾ ਦਿੱਤਾ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ?
ਕੀ ਇਹ ਭਰਾ @ArvindKejriwal ਵੱਲੋਂ ਆਪਣੀ ਭੈਣ ਨੂੰ ਰੱਖੜੀ ਦਾ ਇੱਕ… pic.twitter.com/fHNRl7hGob
— Partap Singh Bajwa (@Partap_Sbajwa) September 13, 2023
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia posted a video message saying Kejriwal should have met Sharma. “The woman he called a sister before elections, has been placed under house arrest today. Is this the way a brother treats his sister,” he asked.
ਬਦਲਾਅ ਸਰਕਾਰ ਨੇ ਅਰਵਿੰਦ ਕੇਜਰੀਵਾਲ ਦੀ ਭੈਣ ਸਿਪੀ ਸ਼ਰਮਾ ਨੂੰ ਘਰ ਵਿਚ ਨਜ਼ਰਬੰਦ ਕਰ ਦਿੱਤਾ ਹੈ ਤਾਂ ਜੋ ਉਹ ਕੇਜਰੀਵਾਲ ਖਿਲਾਫ ਰੋਸ ਪ੍ਰਦਰਸ਼ਨ ਨਾ ਕਰ ਸਕੇ। ਰਿਸ਼ਤਾ ਨਿਭਾਉਣ ਦਾ ਵਿਲੱਖਣ ਤਰੀਕਾ !!@ArvindKejriwal @BhagwantMann pic.twitter.com/kPlGo8muUG
— Bikram Singh Majithia (@bsmajithia) September 13, 2023
Manjinder Singh Sirsa of the BJP, meanwhile, termed the state government’s action proof of the Bhagwant Mann government’s “dictatorial attitude”. “Shameful actions from a party that emerged out of protests. Punjab rejects this #Badlaav,” he said in a post on X.
Dictatorial attitude of @AapPunjab CM @bhagwantmann continues!
646 unemployed PTI's President Gurlab Singh and Sippy Sharma, (whom @ArvindKejriwal called his sister) were arrested so that they can’t go ahead with their protest at the state sponsored rally of @ArvindKejriwal in… pic.twitter.com/AC4FPuIhMx
— Manjinder Singh Sirsa (@mssirsa) September 13, 2023
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann too faced criticism from opposition leaders who accused him of employing government machinery to organise a political rally to mark the inauguration of the ‘School of Eminence’ in Amritsar.
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal cited the government’s orders for the rally and remarked that the Mann government had inflicted a blow on the dignity of both teachers and students. “In any college or school ‘eminence’ belonged equally to students and teachers. If one of them is being herded in for political rallies and the other one is forced to act as herdsman for this purpose, this inflicts a blow to the dignity of both,” he wrote.
In any college or school, “Eminence” belongs equally to students and teachers. If one of them is being herded in for political rallies and the other one is forced to act as herdsman for this purpose, this inflicts a blow to the dignity of both. But that’s what is happening today… pic.twitter.com/0eNs65YFoA
— Sukhbir Singh Badal (@officeofssbadal) September 13, 2023
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters in Amritsar, Kejriwal referred to Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Jawan to say that “Indians should vote not in the name of religion or caste but by judging a politician on whether he has been able to provide good education to his children or not”.
“We are the only political party in the country that goes and asks for votes from people on the basis of the promise that we will give top class education to their children,” he said.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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