
Ludhiana: Demanding job regularisation, computer teachers hold protest
Union leaders sharply criticised the Punjab government for what they called a deliberate delay in fulfilling their legitimate demands. These include the implementation of the 6th Pay Commission, regularisation under Punjab Civil Service Rules and full benefits in death cases and regular service.
Union leaders pointed out that computer teachers have been working in regular roles since 2011. Over the past three years, the union has held several meetings with the government. 'While our demands were acknowledged as valid during these meetings, no actual steps have been taken to resolve them,' said one of the protesters. Teachers feel they are being deliberately ignored, despite their continued contributions to the education system.
The union announced that a larger rally would be held outside the Education Bhawan in Mohali later in June. They also declared that if their issues are not resolved, a massive state-wide protest would follow, for which the government and administration would be fully responsible.
Union leaders present at the rally included Punjab general secretary Harpreet Singh, senior vice presidents Harjeet Singh Sandhu, Anil Aeri, Rakhi Mannan, Sikander Singh and Paramveer Singh Sandhu, along with Gurpreet Singh from Mansa and district leaders like Har Rai Kumar (Ludhiana), Ravinder Singh (Hoshiarpur), Gurpinder Singh (Gurdaspur), Davinder Singh (Ferozepur), including many more supporters from different districts were also present.
Har Rai Kumar, district president of the Computer Teachers Union, said, 'We met MP Sanjeev Arora on Sunday, and he has assured us that he will help arrange a meeting with the concerned officials in the coming week. But the truth is, we have already met the education minister and several other officials multiple times but to no avail. That is why we now want to meet the chief minister directly to resolve our issues.'
Rajya Sabha member Sanjeev Arora said, 'I have fixed their meeting with the finance minister on Monday.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New Indian Express
28 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
PM's foreign visits cost Centre Rs 350 cr since '21
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign visits between 2021 and July 2025 might have strengthened India's bilateral ties with the host nations, but they have also incurred a cost of nearly Rs 300 crore to the exchequer. That includes Rs 67 crore spent on his five foreign visits in February, March and April this year to the United States, France, Mauritius, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia. The Ministry of External Affairs, in a written reply to the questions of TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien, has shared the details of expenditures. The data reveal that Modi visited France and the United States between February 10 and 13, for which the expenses totalled Rs 25,59,82,902 for the French visit and Rs 16,54,84,302 for the US visit, respectively. His visits to Thailand and Sri Lanka from April 3 to 6 cost over Rs 9 crore (`4,92,81,208 in Thailand and Rs 4,46,21,690 in Sri Lanka). He went to Saudi Arabia from April 22 to 23, during which Rs 15,54,03,792.47 was incurred. The PM also visited Mauritius(March 11-12), Cyprus, Canada and Croatia (July 15-19) and Ghana, Trinidad &Tobago, Argentina, Brazil, and Namibia (July 2-9), but the expenditures have not been shared as the bills are still under settlement. In 2024, the PM visited the UAE and Qatar (February 13-15), during which the exchequer spent Rs 3,14,30,607 (Qatar), while on his next visit to Bhutan (March 22-23), Rs 4,50,27,271 was spent. An amount of Rs 14,36,55,289 was spent on his visit to Italy (June 13-14). His visits to Austria and Russia from July 8 to 10 cost Rs 4,35,35,765 and Rs 5,34,71,726, respectively.


Hans India
28 minutes ago
- Hans India
No plan to remove 'socialism', 'secularism,' says Centre
New Delhi: The Union government has 'no current plan or intention' to reconsider or remove the words 'socialism' and 'secularism' from the Preamble of the Constitution inserted during the Emergency period, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday. The House was also told that the government has not 'formally' initiated any legal or constitutional process to remove the two words from the Preamble of the Constitution. In a written reply, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said while there may be discussions or debates in certain public or political circles, 'no formal decision or proposal has been announced by the government' regarding amendments to these terms. "The government's official stand is that there is no current plan or intention to reconsider or remove the words 'socialism' and 'secularism' from the Preamble of the Constitution. Any discussions regarding amendments to the Preamble would require thorough deliberation and broad consensus, but as of now, the government has not initiated any formal process to change these provisions," the minister asserted. He pointed out that in November 2024, the Supreme Court had also dismissed petitions challenging the 1976 amendment (42nd Constitutional Amendment), which affirmed that Parliament's power to amend the Constitution extends to the Preamble. The court clarified that 'socialism' in the Indian context signifies a welfare state and does not impede private sector growth, while 'secularism' is integral to the Constitution's basic structure.


NDTV
28 minutes ago
- NDTV
The Vice Presidents of India I Know
I still remember that muggy morning in Delhi fourteen years ago. For the first time ever in my life, I was meeting a person holding a high constitutional office. The then Vice President of India, Mr Hamid Ansari. It was my first day in Parliament. After being sworn in, he called some of us rookies for an informal chat over coffee. The conversation flowed. Noticing that it had been well over 15 minutes, he asked us to come home soon to continue our chat. We went over a few days later. Exciting. A person holding the second-highest constitutional office in India, finding the time to meet MPs who were 'newbies'. Hamid Ansari had a long and distinguished career as a diplomat. Chief of Protocol to Government of India, High Commissioner to Australia, Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador to Afghanistan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. Then the thirteenth Vice President of India. What is lesser-known of this Kolkata-born, is that he was a middle-order wicket-keeper batsman who won a college cap. In fact, as the Ambassador to Iran, he introduced cricket to the staff of the Indian Embassy, and it is said that he popularised the sport in that country. As the Chairman of Rajya Sabha, Mr Ansari introduced many innovations in the Council of States. When Parliament was in session, he used to host a coffee meeting everyday from 10.30 to 10.55 am. This informal catch-up with floor leaders and chief whips of parties helped the Opposition and the Treasury Benches to try and reach a consensus on the order of play for the day. As Chairman, Mr Ansari had one rule cast in stone: no bill to be passed in the din. This ensured that the government of the day could not bulldoze legislation, Mr Ansari must get full credit for changing the timings of Question Hour and Zero Hour. For over six decades, Question Hour started at 11 am, followed by Zero Hour at 12 noon. The Chairman noticed that Question Hour would often be disrupted because members wanted to raise crucial issues at the start of the day. In 2014, Mr Ansari reversed the timings and since then, Zero Hour starts at 11 am (members raise issues of 'urgent public importance'), followed by Question Hour at 12 noon in Rajya Sabha. His approach to the role as the Chairman is best exemplified by what he said: 'the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is not a player but an umpire in a cricket match… You become a player; you become partisan'. He is now living a happy retired life in Delhi, and has authored many books. The second Vice President I had the pleasure to interact with in Rajya Sabha was Mr Venkaiah Naidu. A seasoned parliamentarian, he had held the portfolios of Rural Development, Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Information and Broadcasting, and Parliamentary Affairs as Minister. History will be kind to Mr Naidu who did not preside over the House on 20 September, 2020- the day the contentious Farm Laws were bamboozled in Parliament. He was born into an agricultural family. Perhaps there lies the answer. Whether it be his chamber or the floor of the House, Mr Naidu used to talk in the same tone with everyone - government or the Opposition. Admirable. And I must mention, whenever he hosted us in the Vice President's house, the non vegetarian Andhra food was terrific. Equal credit must go to Mrs Naidu for being such a wonderful host. He once jokingly told us that he might be the chief outside, but at home he had a Home Minister! Mr Naidu loved delivering snappy one-liners. On students going abroad for higher studies, he quipped, 'learn, earn, and return'. When asked if he had aspirations to become Rashtrapati, he wittily replied that he was happy being Ushapati (husband of Usha, Mrs Usha Naidu is his wife). Then there was the famous line, 'The Left can never be right'. While he had a great sense of humour, he was also very sentimental, often getting visibly misty-eyed when emotive issues were discussed in Parliament. The fourteenth Vice President of India, Mr Jagdeep Dhankar. The subject of a column. Someday.