Asst profs, librarians protest outside CM’s house in Sangrur

Hundreds of assistant professors and librarians on Friday staged a dharna outside the residence of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann here to press the government to save their jobs following a Supreme Court order quashing their the appointment.

The dharna was lifted after around six hours as the Chief Minister’s Office fixed their meeting with Mann for July 25 to discuss the issue. The protest was led by the Assistant Professor and Librarian Front.

The apex court had on Monday quashed the appointment of 1,158 assistant professors and librarians in state government colleges, saying the selection was made in violation of the UGC norms.

The appointments were made during the previous Congress government when Charanjit Singh Channi was the Chief Minister. Earlier in the day, the protesters gathered near a Verka Milk Plant here, from where they took out a protest march up to near the residence of the CM, where they were stopped by a large number of police personnel.

Paramjit Singh, a leader of the front, said the government should explore all legal options to save their jobs. “The state government should not terminate services of any assistant professor or librarian till the matter remains pending in the SC,” he added.

The demand has come as State Higher Education Minister Harjot Bains has said that the state government was exploring all legal options.

Punjab