Akalis Tell Centre To Include Jat Sikhs In OBC List

CHANDIGARH – The core committee of the ShiromaniAkali Dal (SAD) demandedthat Jat Sikhs be included in theCentre’s list of OtherBackward Classes (OBC). Anofficial press release said thatthe meeting chaired by partypresident Sukhbir Singh Badalcondemned the exclusion ofthe community from the list anddescribed it as a part of the CongressruledCentre’s continuing policy of discriminationagainst the community.He said that the party would raise theissue at the highest level at the Centre.Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal saidthe Jat Sikh community hadworked hard to free the countryfrom hunger and foodshortages. Others present onthe occasion included partysecretary general SukhdevSingh Dhindsa, senior vicepresidentRanjit SinghBrahampura, SGPC presidentAvtar Singh was also present.Rajya Sabha MP Dr Manohar Singh Gill,in a letter to the PM, has written: “Lastyear, when an investigation was launchedinto the status of Jats by the Governmentof India, I was surprised to find that theJat Sikhs of Punjab were not included inthe probe launched in other states of theNorth.