Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Sunday ruled out quota for the state's youth in private sector jobs, saying Haryana's decision to give reservations to local candidates in such jobs will not stand judicial scrutiny.
The chief minister was responding to questions by several youngsters during a "AskCaptain" Facebook Live session.
The Haryana cabinet on July 6 had approved a proposal paving way for an ordinance to give 75 per cent reservation in private sector jobs to the youth of the state.
The Constitution and the law bars any such discrimination in the matter of private jobs, Singh said when asked why his government could not follow the Haryana model of reservation in private sector jobs.
The chief minister pointed out that Punjabis were employed all over the country, with no restrictions by any state. "We cannot stop youths from other states taking up jobs in Punjab," he said.
Mr Singh added that he did not believe Haryana's decision could be upheld in the courts.
To a question on the encounter of gangster Vikas Dubey in Uttar Pradesh, the chief minister said he could not comment on the issue but the Congress was right in demanding an inquiry.
The truth needs to be revealed, Mr Singh was quoted as saying in an official release.
To a concern expressed by a Amritsar resident on the tender for supply of "desi ghee" to the Golden Temple by a Pune-based company instead of Milkfed, Singh said he was not in favour of this as dairy was the "second crop" for Punjab and had to be supported.
Commenting that no ''ghee'' is better than Punjab ghee, he hoped the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) would reconsider its decision.
The SGPC, an apex gurdwara body, had allotted a tender worth Rs 60 crore for the supply of ''desi ghee'' and skimmed milk for making ''Karah Parshad'' and ''langar'' to a Pune-based firm.
Earlier, the religious body was purchasing these items from Punjab Milkfed (Punjab State Cooperative Milk Producers Federation Limited).
To a question on the slow pace of land mutations, he said he had directed the chief secretary to conduct a special drive to accelerate the process and clear pending mutations at the earliest.
On a point raised by a Khanna resident regarding the Punjab School Education Board certificate not recognised for international studies in some countries like Australia, the chief minister said he will take up the issue with the Australian government and urge it to give due recognition to PSEB school degrees.
