Farmers Movement Archive

Garlanding with Shoes: Farmers, teachers to protest at DC office in support of Ludhiana DEO today

Ludhiana, January 2The incident of DEO Lakhvir Singh being mischievously garlanded with shoes has evoked strong reaction from all fronts. It is not only the teaching community or the educationists who have termed it as a highly “insensitive behaviour”, farmer associations have also joined hands to support the DEO. And in this case, a mass protest and gathering will be held tomorrow outside the DC office at 12 noon.Bharti Kisan Union (Dakaunda) leader Mohinder Singh Kamalpura, BKU (Ugrahan) Saudagar Singh Ghudani, Democratic Teachers’ Front, principals and educationists from private schools and colleges, Government School Teachers’ Union, etc, have extended full support to DEO Lakhvir Singh, who even after being garlanded with shoes, did not lose temper and maintained calm and went ahead as per law.The kisan union leaders, expressing shock over the incident, said a bomb exploded in the District Court Complex recently and still the administration and police did not woke up from slumber and failed to adopt strict safety measures. Now this incident has taken place. “That means there is absolutely no check what all is carried by public or any other person in Mini Secretariat”, rued kisan leader Mohinder Singh Kamalpura.Talking to The Tribune, Principal, Nankana Sahib Public School, Harmit Kaur Waraich said if any molestation had taken place, expressing solidarity with the family, members of the parents’ association could have taken up the matter with the police (if the family had agreed to it). “First, they had no right to teach someone a lesson and secondly, if parents were resisting to file any complaint, those who garlanded the DEO with shoes on the particular issue (as he allegedly failed to take action against the male teacher) had no right to publicise the whole issue,” said the principal.Dr Devinder Chhina, District Nodal Officer (media)-cum-Principal of a government school, said it was a pre-planned conspiracy against the DEO. “Earlier also they had planned to garland the DEO with shoes but unfortunately a bomb blast took place at Mini Secretariat and the parents’ association leaders were not successful in the attempt,” said Chhina.School union leaders said the members of Private School Parents’ Association had no right to interfere in the government’s working. “If they have issues, they can lodge a complaint with the higher authorities. Nobody has given them the right to punish someone,” said another principal of a government school.Teachers, kisan union leaders, principals, etc, have asked the authorities to arrest the accused within 24 hours, else there will be a bigger protest tomorrow.Mandi Ahmedgarh/Raikot: Office-bearers and activists of various outfits of teachers have demanded strict action against the accused.Activists of the Joint Teachers Front, Raikot, and Alumni Association of Satish Chander Dhawan Government College, Ludhiana, alleged that self-styled leaders of a parents’ association had humiliated the whole teaching community by insulting a senior education officer for no fault of his.“We fail to understand genuineness of such parents towards psychological and moral development of their wards when they can’t respect teachers who have been since known as nation builders,” said Brij Bhushan Goyal, coordinator of the Alumni Association.Bharat Bhushan Sharma, convener of meeting of the Joint Teachers Front, Raikot, said office-bearers and activists of Democratic Teachers Front, Bachelor of Education Teachers Front, Teacher Fellow Union and Zila Parishad Teachers Union had resolved to launch a coordinated movement to take the case registered against the accused to a conclusive end.What provoked parentsAs per members of the parents’ association, the DEO had allegedly failed to take strict action against the male teacher who had allegedly molested a girl student at a government school, near here. While a compromise had reportedly taken place between the family and teacher with the help school authorities and local panchayat, the parents’ association was adamant on punishing the DEO.

The Tribune

2022-01-03