NUJS Alumni and young SC lawyer Jaiveer Shergill joins Politics

Jaiveer Shergill, a graduate of the National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata (NUJS) and practicing lawyer at the Supreme Court of India has made entry into politics, with his recent appointment as the Co-Chairman of the Congress Legal Cell for State of Punjab..Jaiveer Shergill, a graduate of the National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata (NUJS) and practicing lawyer at the Supreme Court of India has made entry into politics, with his recent appointment as the Co-Chairman of the Congress Legal Cell for the State of Punjab [Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC)-Legal Cell]. Jaiveer also holds an LLM from Berkeley University (California, USA) and is one of the youngest Co-Chairman appointed to head the Legal Cell of the Congress Party for the State of Punjab..Jaiveer belongs to Punjab and is from a family of lawyers, but has no political background. He says, “That way I am a political orphan and this is another reason for me to start this journey to bring a change and involve and motivate young professionals from all spheres to join politics.”.Law School as a stepping-stone to Politics .Jaiveer acknowledges that law school was a stepping-stone to politics. In NUJS, he contested and successfully got elected as the President of the student body, the Student Juridical Association. Jaiveer says, “As an elected President of the student body, I had taken it upon myself to serve as an efficient liaison between the administration and the students on a number of contentious issues and thoroughly enjoyed playing the role of an approachable and trusted senior to many new students on campus”..“I think all of this has been very useful in preparing me to deal with my current assignment and law certainly gives a better understanding of politics”, adds Jaiveer..Motivation to join Politics.Jaiveer says, “The main motivating factor is the change than one can bring about by effectively being part of the system rather than always criticizing it. Secondly, my motivation lies in a desire to send a clear message to the youth that there exists a place for political ‘orphans’ within the Indian political system and having a political background or a Godfather is not necessary.”.Appointment as Co-Chairman of PPCC.While talking about how the opportunity to take up the role of Co-Chairman of PPCC came about, Jaiveer says that that PPCC was revamping the committee and they wanted to infuse some young lawyers and young professionals in the committee. He says, “Since I was always in touch with party leaders on a regular basis and had shown keen interest in being part of the legal cell, the party offered me the post to actually implement my ideas through this political platform”..These posts are otherwise political appointments though there is no selection procedure. “But if you show commitment towards change and provide the party members with ideas, like I did, and show keen interest and passion by following up with the leaders, then they usually consider you”, says Jaiveer..Role as Co-Chairman.After being appointed as Co-Chairman of the Congress Legal Cell for State of Punjab, Jaiveer has decided to initiate various projects across the State, the primary focus being on educating rural citizens of their legal rights..Jaiveer says, “Right now, legal cells at district level are practically inactive. I plan to appoint district legal cell heads and create effective teams at the district level”. .Projects.The PPCC Legal Cell has launched two projects to start with; Project Suraksha and Project Jagruti..Project Suraksha has been launched to protect party workers against political vendetta. There will be a dedicated toll-free number to register such grievances. Project Jagruti involves holding small workshops to build awareness of basic legal rights. A team of 25 lawyers is already ready to hold such legal camps..These projects later will also be extended for other kinds of grievances like female feoticide, drug abuse etc. Jaiveer says that problems like female feoticide and drug abuse is very high in the State of Punjab. “We plan to deal with these issues at the grass root level. There are more than 5 to 6 districts in Punjab and there are about 12000 villages, all controlled by Panchayati systems. Jaiveer says, “So now we have to start by appointing young lawyers as district heads of these legal cells. Then each month we plan to cover 50 to 100 panchayats, when I say cover, it means hold camps, listen to their problems and try to give them practical solutions, inform them about their basic right to file FIR”. Also, pressure has to be put on the local administration and the local sarpanch during the legal camps to enforce stricter laws..Future plan.While talking about his future plans Jaiveer says that he definitely plans to enter politics full-time. He plans to create an effective, young, working professional team all across the state. .Jaiveer says more and more lawyers should join legal aid cells in various courts and also hold legal awareness camps..“Today, politics is considered a ‘forbidden kingdom’ for people who do not have ‘Godfathers in the political system. I endeavour to send the message that the youth do have a place in politics but they need to carve a place for themselves”, concludes Jaiveer.