Chandigarh: Blaming the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s “haughtiness” for the death of assistant professor Balwinder Kaur, Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar Tuesday urged all Punjabis to “come together as one to force this callous regime into submission”.
“It is astonishing that they have already named the deceased’s husband and father-in-law for abetment to suicide without any proof – ostensibly to save the state education minister whose name is mentioned in the suicide note – and as alleged has mocked and ridiculed the struggle of teachers sitting on dharna,” Jakhar said in Rupnagar as he visited the family of deceased professor at their home and addressed the ongoing dharna of 1,158 unemployed assistant professors and librarians.
The body of Kaur, who allegedly died by suicide, was on Monday afternoon fished out of the Sirhind canal, approximately 5 km from where she had reportedly jumped into the water on Saturday. Her family has called for a thorough investigation into her purported suicide note in which she mentioned her struggles to secure employment and blamed Education Minister Harjot Bains. Meanwhile, Kaur’s husband Supreet Singh and father-in-law Bagh Singh were nabbed and remanded in police custody allegedly after an examination of her phone revealed messages in which she claimed to be upset over the daily disputes at home and her intention to take the extreme step.
“By manufacturing other reasons for the suicide (the government is) typically trying to distract and divert the attention of people,” Jakhar said. Sharing his condolences with the family of the deceased woman, the veteran leader assured them of “taking their fight for justice for their daughter to the logical end”.
Jakhar added, “I am here to share your grief, anguish and frustration. Parents do so much for the studies of their children to make them self-reliant.”
Slamming the AAP leadership, he continued, “These are the same leaders who had promised that Punjab would be dharna-free and that there would be no farmer suicides. Thanks to them, Punjab today has dharna in every district and besides farmers, our students and teachers are also up in arms against this inept and incompetent government.”