Shadow Correspondent
Reasi, Mar,28
Flaying the suppression, exploitation and harassment of contractual and lower rung employees by the in the State, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh Chairman JKNPP and Former Minister sought launched a scathing attack on all the parties and BJP in particular for playing with their sentiments during the elections and later leaving them in lurch after garnering votes. He regretted that the callous erstwhile Saffron partnered alliance ruthlessly treated these employees like ‘throwaways’ and it’s criminal apathy towards the underemployed youth had made their life worse than hell. He was addressing series of public meetings at Numain, Kotli, Bhaga, Pouni, Bharak, Ransu, Talwara villages of Reasi segment of Udhampur parliamentary constituency today.
Lampooning the Saffron slogan of ‘ Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao’ as mere ‘Jumla’, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh rued that such slogans had sprinkled salts on the wounds of the daughters of the soil who were among the hundreds of highly qualified plus two contractual lecturers sitting on chain hunger strike for more than 2 years.
“They are seeking regularization of their services after rendering their services with zeal and honesty in schools for more than 7 years on a paltry salary. Same was the fate of contractual lecturers of Colleges and Polytechnics who were also the victims of exploitation while working on peanut salaries for years”, Harsh rued. Drawing the attention of the State dispensation towards the agony of teaching fraternity all across the State, the former Education Minister divulged that the salaries of RETs, Teachers and Masters engaged under SSA and RMSA remain unpaid for months under BJP rule while the education department teetered on the brink.
Anguished over the thousands of DRW’s, Need based workers and Casual labourers working in various departments including PDD, PWD, PHE, R&B, I&FC, Health & Medical Education, Forest, Horticulture, Agriculture, TDAs, Social Welfare, etc who were forced to work like bonded labourers by the State government without paying their meager wages for the last 4-5 years.”They had been languishing in open protesting for their regularization and release of pending dues but regretted that BJP in particular being an alliance partner in the previous government had forgotten its promises and failed to project the issues of Daily Wagers inside the Assembly . They had been cheated, maltreated and pushed to face miseries by the Saffron government”, anguished Harsh said. Expressing his anguish over the exploitation of thousands of NHRM employees seeking regularization of their services, he said that these employees included doctors, ASHA workers, paramedics and managerial staff who were working tirelessly and selflessly on paltry wages despite all the difficulties they were confronted with. Likewise, Anganwari workers and other lower rung employees were harassed by the erstwhile ‘dirty alliance’ with no wages to them for several months. Several such employees were also terminated from their services which had put their future in dark, Harsh divulged.
Supporting the cause of the MG-NREGA employees working on contractual basis, Mr. Singh said that thousands of highly qualified youth had been engaged under the scheme by the Rural Development Deptts as Programme Officers, Technical Assistants, GRS, MIS operators, Accounts Assistants, social auditors and Adm. Assistants on consolidated basis since the launch of the scheme without revising their salaries or framing any policy with respect to their regularization. Similar was the condition of SPO’s working in Police Department who have been rendering their services for more than 10-15 years in stringent and life threatening conditions with no secured future, he added.
“It was only us who fought for your rights from the roads of Jammu to New Delhi. We staged protests outside the Parliament, at Jantar Mantar in the Union capital. Our leaders and workers were arrested and detained in the jails several times while protesting for your rights.
Panthers party is your voice, your soul. Support us in the Lok Sabha elections, we pledge to take your fight to its logical conclusion. Our hearts bleed when you are harassed, exploited and oppressed”, Harsh appealed to the employees.
