From CK Nayak
NEW DELHI: A Congress MP from Punjab has sought the Centre’s intervention in ending the impasse over relocation of Dalit Sikh settlers at Them Iew Mawlong in Shillong.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha on Monday, Gurjeet Singh Aujla said Sikhs in Shillong are leaving in fear and the Meghalaya government is contemplating relocation against their wish.
“This is despite the fact that the Dalit Sikhs are staying on the two acre land legally over one and a half centuries,” he said.
“They have valid voter I-cards, Aadhaar cards and ration cards in their names. Also, electricity meters are in their names. A gurudwara and a school are also located there,” said the MP from Amritsar who was part of the committee that was set up by the Punjab chief minister to look into the matter.
“We held talks with the Chief Minister of Meghalaya, but we did not get a positive response. The CM is acting at the behest of local people who want the Sikhs to leave the place. They are being threatened and persecuted there,” he alleged.
Aujla claimed that the High Court of Meghalaya had given a stay order on the relocation but the state government filed an appeal against the judgment in the court.
However, the court has not issued any stay order but only issued a notice to the state following the petition by the Harijan Panchayat Committee seeking cancellation of the high level committee on relocation.
“I urge the Centre to intervene in this matter. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured in a rally in Punjab that he would protect the rights of Sikhs. The central government must intervene,” the MP added.
