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| Govt stubborn, employees threaten to intensify agitation | | Secretariat gherao' programme fizzles out | | Syed Junaid Hashmi
Early Times Report
JAMMU, Feb 21: Police today thwarted attempt made by the agitating government employees to move towards the civil secretariat for gherao in protest against government's inability to pay arrears alongside redressing their other genuine demands.
Much before employees began gathering outside Maharaja Hari Singh Higher Secondary School, heavy presence of police was self-speaking about mood of district administration. Instructions had been issued not to allow any 'non-sense' on the roads leading to civil secretariat especially high profile Residency Road area, sources said. They added that government is in mood to allow employees to hijack state machinery once again.
Further, working on input provided by intelligence agencies of sharp divisions between the employee organisations, sources disclosed that government has decided to use the same for its 'means and ends'. They asserted that a vigilance probe is on cards against some of the employee leaders who have amassed unaccounted wealth despite being middle rung or lower rung employees.
Sources affirmed that it is this confidence which has emboldened government to take repressive measures against the agitating employees, something which has been on display in this renewed phase of protest by the employees. On Monday, when the employees under the banner of Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) gathered outside Maharaja Hari Singh Higher Secondary School and began moving towards the Residency Road, it took police not more than 30 minutes to disperse them all.
Employee leaders from top to lower rung were all taken under preventive custody but not before scuffle. Police shifted the arrested employees including the leaders to District Police Line (DPL). While the top rung leadership was arrested without much resistance, eyewitnesses said that lower rung leaders were dragged to the police vehicles.
Prior to his arrest, leader of JCC and Chairman of Employee Joint Action Committee (EJAC) Abdul Qayoom Wani accused the government of adopting dilly-dally tactics and said that fulfillment of demands is must for the employee community. He condemned the
Police action and warned the state government to desist from adopting anti-employee policy. He urged them to shun path of confrontation.
Wani said that government has backtracked from the promises and agreements made with the JCC Leaders from time to time. Describing state government as anti-employee and anti-people, JCC leaders warned it of dire consequences if the demands of employees are not met with immediate effect. He reiterated that some senior cabinet ministers are misleading Chief Minister with regard to employee's demands.
Another leader said that JCC leadership has been trying for amicable settlement of the pending demands of employees. He maintained that if the government does not come out a conclusive decision over their demands before February 25, 2010; they would be forced to take path of agitation and protest.
It needs to be mentioned here that JCC had called for simultaneous protest marches in Jammu, Srinagar and Leh to press for their demands. Reports affirm that protest demonstrations were also held at Srinagar and Leh. It has also been known reliably that vehicles of protesting employees who were proceeding towards the venue were stopped at different places and leaders were arrested at Kathua, R.S.Pura, Bikram Chowk and Udhampur.
Meanwhile, in Srinagar, JCC leader and EJAC (K) chairman, Khurshid Alam led a protest rally which started from Food and Supplies office and culminated at Deputy Commissioner's Srinagar office. Raising slogans against the coalition government, protesting employees submitted a memorandum to DC Srinagar also.
Earlier, Alam while addressing to employees, urged the government to fulfill demands of the employees. Employees have warned the coalition government to fulfill the demands agreed by the committee, failing which they would go on indefinite strike. Leaders who were arrested include Ganesh Khajuria, Amrik Singh, Ishtiyaq Beigh,Khalid Mahmood, Jaswant Singh, Devanand Gill, Kulwant Singh, Darminder Singh, G.M Pandit, Balwinder Singh, Haji Bashir, Mohd. Rafiq Rather, Mukhtar Tantray, Khalid Mahmood, Fareed Fani, Khurshid Ahmed Mir, Shahid Hussain, Nissar Ahmed,Ravi Singh Bali, Joginder Paul, Kalwant Singh, Devanand Gill, Kapii Bakshi, Gh Nabi Sofi, Darshan Kumar, Naresh Sharma, Surat Singh Toofani, Mohd Ayoob Akhoon, Rakesh Sadhotra, Syed Zakir Peer, Jamat Ali, Mohd. Ishaq, Mohd. Ayoub, Nisar Ahmed Bandey, Suresh Sharma, Ashok Dutta, Rohit George, Vinay Verma, Omkar Singh and others.
Those arrested from Kathua included President Puran Singh, Vice-President Surjeet Singh, General Secretary Amarnath, Thakur Praveen Singh, Balbir Singh, Om Prakash, Bharat Bhushan, Nazir Ahmed and Liaqat Ali.
On the other side, state government again appealed employees not to resort to path of confrontation. "We cannot deduct Rs 4200 crore from the annual plan. We are generating a meager revenue of around Rs 3500 crore and we have to pay Rs 9,000 crore annually as salary and Rs. 2000 crore as Pension to the employees," said an official. He added that while the government has placed roadmap for paying arrears to the employees before them, it they who have to decide whether to accept the government roadmap or reject the same for no reason. |
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