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| Increase in retirement age of employees gives re-birth to factionalism in Congress | | | Jehangir Rashid
SRINAGAR, June 4: Friction among the members of parallel lobbies of Congress party took an ugly turn on Tuesday as soon as the Omar Abdullah led National Conference-Congress coalition Government announced that the retirement age would be increased from 58 to 60 years.
Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for School Education, Tara Chand wasted no time and credited former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader, Ghulam Nabi Azad for the development. Tara said that it was Azad who had agreed in principle to increase the retirement age but could not do so due to fall of coalition Government headed by Azad in 2008.
The School Education Minister addressed a press conference in which he claimed that Azad had in fact drawn up a plan of accepting the demands of Government employees including the demand regarding increase in retirement age. He in fact took a lead over his Cabinet colleagues of National Conference Abdul Rahim Rather, Ali Mohammad Sagar and Chaudhary Mohammad Ramzan.
The dust was yet to settle down when the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) President, Professor Saif-ud-Din Soz said that he had to struggle hard for ensuring that the demand for increasing the retirement age is accepted by the state Government. Soz said that it were his efforts that forced the people at helm to increase the retirement age of employees from 58 to 60 years.
The PCC President took on the Director Information, Tasaduq Jeelani and said that the Information Department did not give any credit to Congress as soon as Omar announced that retirement age has been increased at the culmination of his meeting with leaders of Joint Coordination Committee of Government employees.
Soz alleged that Omar wants to take the credit for the steps taken by the coalition Government after the debacle faced by coalition partners in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Neither National Conference nor Congress could open its account in Parliamentary elections. People’s Democratic Party and Bharatiya Janta Party won three seats apiece in the Lok Sabha elections.
Differences among Congress Ministers and legislators have been a normal thing in the past as well with accusations leveled by the members of parallel groups. Tuesday's development has added yet another dimension with the party all set to face the consequences thereof as the Assembly elections are being held after a gap five or six months in the state.
Although, both Soz and Azad had tried to put up a united face in the past to give an impression that all is well reality is that picture is no way rosy with legislators at loggerheads against each other. Interestingly, both Azad and Soz addressed few election rallies jointly in the run-up to the Parliamentary elections in the state.
Friction and differences among Congress legislators is all set o give advantage to BJP and PDP in the coming Assembly elections. Since National Conference is up against many odds following the debacle the party cannot dreamt of advantage following the differences among the Congress Legislators and Ministers in the state. |
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