Akali Dal double crossing farmers, says Amarinder
The Hindu
Badals have changed their tune when their move on farm laws backfired, says Punjab CM
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday accused Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) of “double crossing” the farmers on the Centre’s. Capt. Amarinder said the laws were drafted with the consent of SAD with Harsimrat Kaur Badal as the Union Minister and even former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal arguing in their favour. But they have changed their tune completely when their move backfired. He said the Congress is the only party that has been protesting against the laws from day one. “The Congress government called an all-party meeting and held consultations with the farm unions. Later, it convened a special session of the Vidhan Sabha and passed Bills countering the laws.”Several principals of government and private schools in Delhi on Tuesday said the Directorate of Education (DoE) circular from a day earlier, directing schools to conduct classes in ‘hybrid’ mode, had caused confusion regarding day-to-day operations as they did not know how many students would return to school from Wednesday and how would teachers instruct in two modes — online and in person — at once. The DoE circular on Monday had also stated that the option to “exercise online mode of education, wherever available, shall vest with the students and their guardians”. Several schoolteachers also expressed confusion regarding the DoE order. A government schoolteacher said he was unsure of how to cope with the resumption of physical classes, given that the order directing government offices to ensure that 50% of the employees work from home is still in place. On Monday, the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) had, on the orders of the Supreme Court, directed schools in Delhi-NCR to shift classes to the hybrid mode, following which the DoE had issued the circular. The court had urged the Centre’s pollution watchdog to consider restarting physical classes due to many students missing out on the mid-day meals and lacking the necessary means to attend classes online. The CAQM had, on November 20, asked schools in Delhi-NCR to shift to the online mode of teaching.