Govt created history by implementing quota in Advocate General’s office: Min

Addressing a press conference at Sahnewal on Thursday, Cabinet Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian said the state government was taking sincere steps to strengthen the Scheduled Castes (SC) community, fulfilling the dreams of Dr BR Ambedkar, since the AAP came to power in 2022. He said it had created history by implementing reservation in the Advocate General’s office.

Mundian added that in 2022, AAP’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann issued orders to implement reservation arrangements for government advocate positions, especially in the High Court. In 2017, for the first time, reservation was introduced for 58 posts, marking a historic decision in favour of Punjab’s dalits and Scheduled Tribes.

Earlier, the criteria was an annual income of Rs 20 lakh for Senior Advocate General, Rs 15 lakh for Additional Advocate General, Rs 10 lakh for Senior Deputy Advocate General, Rs 7 lakh for Deputy Advocate General, Rs 3.5 lakh for Assistant Advocate General, and no income requirement for Advocate on Record, as per the 2017 Act.

The Cabinet Minister highlighted that since the AAP government took the reins of the state into its hands, photographs of B R Ambedkar and Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh had been mandatorily displayed in the offices of all government departments across the state.

He affirmed that, in line with Dr Ambedkar’s vision, the AAP government was committed to eradicating corruption and had fully adopted his ideology. He clarified that reservation in the appointment of law officers enabled the youth of the SC community to become judges in the High Court and Supreme Court.

Mundian stated that this historic decision significantly relaxed the criteria, halving the income tax requirement for SC and ST candidates, thereby enhancing their access to these positions.

Ludhiana