CHANDIGARH: The Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Punjab Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa on Thursday lambasted the Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab Government for its negligent approach in promptly clearing the pending scholarship applications under the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme for the Scheduled Caste (SC) students in Punjab.
Citing a news report, Bajwa said that the standing committee on social justice and empowerment has expressed serious concerns about the significant number of pending scholarship applications under the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme for the Scheduled Caste (SC) students in Punjab. The committee was apprised of several reasons for the delays, including the slow release of funds by the state government.
Senior Congress Leader Bajwa said that the scheme is sponsored by the central government and scholarships are distributed by the respective state governments. The sole aim of the scheme is to financially help underprivileged students belonging to the Scheduled Caste community in fulfilling their dreams of higher studies.
"The AAP government in Punjab has been clearly playing with the future of the Dalit students in the state. Its anti-Dalit community face has been unmasked once again. Can the AAP government explain why it has failed to swiftly clear pending scholarship applications under the scheme mentioned above, " asked Bajwa.
Qadian Legislator Bajwa said that the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann often made lofty claims about launching various programmes for the welfare of the SC community in particular. However, it has failed miserably to perform on the ground.
"The AAP has been in power for the past approximately three years, however, it has yet to fulfill its promise to make Deputy CM from the Dalit community, " Bajwa stated.