Chandigarh: In view of the Bandh Call on April 2, against the dilution of SC/ST Atrocities Act, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh appealed the people of the state, especially the members of so-termed SC community, to keep restraint.
In a statement issued here on Saturday, Captain Amarinder Singh also appealed to the people to maintain peace and communal harmony. He maintained that the Punjab government respects the sentiments of all sections of the people and their rights to express their views in a legitimate and peaceful manner, nothing should be done to endanger the hard earned atmosphere of peace and communal harmony in the state.
The Chief Minister said that the Punjab Government was already committed for the welfare of Scheduled Caste community, which was evident from the fact that the Punjab Vidhan Sabha unanimously adopted a resolution to express solidarity with our SC brethren during its recently concluded Budget Session seeking the NDA Government’s intervention to legally pursue the case in which a Supreme Court verdict had diluted provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Captain Amarinder Singh further urged the SC Community and different associations to maintain peace, harmony and amity during the Bandh call.
Pointing that since Punjab had the highest population of Scheduled Castes in the country, which constitutes nearly 32 percent of state’s population, CM Amarinder Singh claimed that the Punjab Government accords the highest priority to ensure their all-round welfare and committed to safeguard their interests.