Teachers from Punjab stage protest in front of Sonia Gandhi's residence with 'flower in hand'

Teachers from Punjab staged a protest outside Congress president Sonia Gandhi's residence at 10 Janpath in Delhi over the pay scale issue. About 180 regular ETT teachers out of 4,500 ETT teachers who staged the protest alleged that they were recruited in 2016 by the Punjab government and are now forced to accept the Central Pay Scale after regular services of complete five years.

New Delhi:Teachers from Punjab staged a protest outside Congress president Sonia Gandhi's residence at 10 Janpath in Delhi over the pay scale issue. About 180 regular ETT teachers out of 4,500 ETT teachers who staged the protest alleged that they were recruited in 2016 by the Punjab government and are now forced to accept the Central Pay Scale after regular services of complete five years.

Teachers said they are also like other permanent teachers, but from last year their salaries were deducted almost to half that too without any reason. So we gathered here with our demands and protesting with Gandhi's ideology, with a flower in hand.

We did not even raise any kind of slogan against the Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, or the Delhi administration.

They say that there is a Congress government in Punjab but it is not listening to them.

Earlier also we staged a similar protest and gathered outside the residence of Punjab's Education Minister Sardar Pargat Singh. At that time Pargat Singh himself has said publicly in media that a mistake happened with regard to 180 teachers but since then a year passed but nothing has changed.

As these teachers are protesting at Sonia Gandhi's residence in Delhi, they believe that as Punjab is a poll-bound state and if their voice will reach the party high command. So considering upcoming elections, the party president may order the Charanjit Singh Channi led Punjab government to pay them full salary.

However, a couple of days back these protesters had also protested in front of Rahul Gandhi's residence in Delhi.