PATIALA: Unhappy over non-inclusion of OBC and SC community representatives by the party while expanding the Punjab cabinet , two more Congress legislators- Amargarh MLA Surjit Dhiman and Balluana MLA Nathu Ram have also resigned from the party posts on Saturday.While Dhiman is the vice president of the state Congress, Nathu Ram holds the post of general secretary. However, the two would continue as party legislators and work for the people.The two leaders held a press briefing at Dirbha in Sangrur district where they announce their decision. Party’s other vice president and MLA from Urmur Sangat Singh Gilzian had also announced his resignations from the party post of Vice president of PPCC and member AICC, late Friday evening after the high command announced the names of nine new ministers to join Capt Amarinder Singh’s cabinet in Punjab.Dhiman said they had led the member of their communities into supporting the Congress party during the last assembly elections on promises that due representation would give to them in the state cabinet. “However, we feel that we have been unable to keep these promises and thus decided to resign from the party posts,” he said.He said it was for the party high command to make certain that all communities were given due representations in the state cabinet. The two leaders said their discontentment was over non-representation of the OBCs and SCs in the state cabinet. “If not us, someone else from the OBCs or SCs must have been included in the cabinet to work for the members of the communities,” the two leaders said.A visibly upset Dhiman said he still stood by his statement given during the state level function at Sunam to pay homage to Shaheed Udham Singh that the state government had been unable to curtail the drug trade in the state.Meanwhile, some other MLAs, who represent the OBC and SC communities in the state assembly and are also holding party positions in various capacities, are also planning to put in their papers as a mark of resentment for the non-inclusion of the members of their communities in the state cabinet. These leaders said while OBCs have a 28% share in the state voters, SCs have 34% share.These leaders seeking anonymity, for now, said the party had failed to evolve an effective formula acceptable to all communities by promoting eight Jats (50%) in the state cabinet even as the community only has 18% voters in the state. These leaders said ignoring members of OBC and SC communities could ‘prove costly’ for the party during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections

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