Midnight crackdown : over dozen JCC leaders arrested
Fayaz Bukhari / Gopal Sharma
SRINAGAR/ JAMMU May 24: In a midnight crackdown police arrested around a dozen of State government employee leaders from different parts of Kashmir valley while the work in most of the Government departments and the PSU offices remained paralyzed today as employees went on a three-day strike across the State.
In Srinagar, Jammu, Leh and all other district headquarters, the employees held protest demonstrations and staged dharnas to press for their demands. The attendance in the offices was thin while in Civil Secretariat, the work remained unaffected. The general public had to suffer while patient care in many hospitals also got affected due to strike.
The midnight arrest of the Government employee leaders was carried out after they rejected the Government’s appeal to shun the path of confrontation.
Around one dozen Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) members of the Government employees were arrested during raids conducted by police on their residences at midnight.
The employee leaders Ram Kumar Sharma, Khursheed Aalam, Abdul Qayoom Wani and Mohammad Gafoor Dar condemned arrest of the employees and said that by these arrests government has taken a confrontational course.
Those arrested include Abdul Qayoom Wani, Mohammad Khurshid Aalam, Mohidin Muntazir, Khursheed Ahmad Bhat, Farooq Trali, Khalid Mehmood, Abdul Qayoom Beigh, Haji Bashir Ahmad Bhat, Abdul Qayoom Beigh. Three more employee leaders Mohammad Rafiq Rather, Ghulam Mohamamd Changal and Irshad Ahmad were arrested from Baramulla while protesting against arrest of the employee leaders.
President of the EJAC (R) and senior JCC member, Ram Kumar Sharma, warned to intensify agitation after what he said government’s confrontational attitude towards the employees.
Kumar said that issues raised by the government employees have already been accepted by the Government and they have failed to implement it. He said that by conducting midnight raids government has adopted confrontational approach.
He asked the Government to release the employee leaders immediately and threatened to intensify agitation. Holding government responsible for the employee agitation, Kumar said that they are backing out from the agreement which they reached out with the employees last year.
President of the EJAC (K), Khursheed Aalam, who was also arrested in a midnight raid on his house in Srinagar said that police action and arrests will not deter the employees from demanding their rights.
“Our demands are genuine and government cannot resolve this matter by what they are doing. Arresting the union leaders is not a solution. Government will be responsible for whatever repercussion this will have”, warned Aalam.
The president of the EJAC (Q) and senior JCC member, Abdul Qayoom Wani, while condemning the midnight police crackdown against the employees said that employees are not running an underground movement. He said that government has been shaken by the unity shown by its employees and the crackdown is an act of frustration.
Wani said that they will intensify their agitation and won’t be cowed down by such government tactics. He said that his house at Tangmarg and his Father-in-Laws house at HMT Srinagar were raided by police. He alleged that his father in law who is terminally ill was harassed by the police during the raid.
Normal work in majority of Government offices was affected across Jammu region with the strike of the State employees while a large number of workers from several Government departments and Public Sector undertakings held protest demonstration and a day-long dharna at Exhibition Ground near Press Club here today.
On the first day of the three-day strike call given by the Joint Consultative Committee (JCC), comprising representatives from EJAC/ various other employees’ bodies, the employees and workers held protest demonstration at district headquarters and also at their offices. The attendance in the Government offices and PSUs remained very thin. While the general public suffered due to employees’ strike, the work in the emergencies of the hospitals remained unaffected. The operational staff of PHE, PDD, Health and CAPD was exempted from the strike. In hospital wards, the patient care was affected with the employees’ strike.
In Jammu city, a large number of employees led by senior trade union leaders Ram Kumar Sharma, Balwan Singh Jamwal, Parshotam Sharma, Ganesh Khajuria, Madan Sangral, Kulwant Singh, Amrik Singh and others assembled at Press Club and held massive protest demonstration in the morning. These leaders also addressed the employees’ gathering and strongly criticized the Government for its attitude. They alleged that Government has forced the employees to come out on the roads as their already agreed demands have not been finally settled.
The speakers alleged that the demands regarding enhancement of retirement age from 58 to 60 years, regularization of daily rated, consolidated/casual workers has not been addressed, issue of pay anomalies has not been settled and large number of PSU workers have been deprived of the 6th Pay Commission benefits. Their arrears have not be released and conditions on the GP Fund drawls have been imposed by Government.
Senior JCC leader Ram Kumar condemned the Govt’s repressive attitude and said that top JCC leaders who were arrested while sleeping at their respective houses in Kashmir last mid night be released unconditionally otherwise, the employees from the entire State would be forced to intensify the agitation. He said the employees were agitating peacefully within democratic limits. The leaders had not gone underground. Arresting them during midnight and causing harassment to their families while sleeping, is considered as cowardice act of the cops and it depicts utter frustration of the Government.
The employees in Jammu city also staged protest dharnas in various offices. In Rajouri employees staged protest outside the office of DC and CEO Rajouri. It was followed by day long dharna. Similar reports of protest dharnas were received from Kathua, Samba, Udhampur, Reasi, Poonch, Ramban, Doda and Kishtwar districts and several tehsil headquarters.
In the meantime, JCC members Mohammad Gafoor Dar, Rafiq Ahmad Khanyari, Faiaz Ahmad Shabnam and Fayaz Andrabi addressed a hurriedly arranged press conference in Srinagar to condemn the arrest of senior employees leaders and announced that the agitation programme will go ahead as per the already announced schedule.
It may be mentioned here that tomorrow Government employees are scheduled to march towards Srinagar’s Civil Secretariat to press for their demands and will also court arrests. On May 26, they will march to Rajbhawan in Srinagar to seek governor’s intervention in the implementation of the agreement they reached with government last year vis-à-vis their demands.
Dar condemned the arrest of the top leadership of the government employees. He said that they will intensify agitation and there is no need to hold talks with the government as they have to implement the agreement that has already been signed by both the parties. He said by offering talks on the issue to employees, government is trying to delay the process of implementation of the agreement which was due to be implemented in March.
Dar said that government employees don’t want confrontation but they are being forced by the state government for strikes and agitation. He urged the political parties to build pressure on the government for the implementation of the agreement.
The state government employees demand enhancement of retirement age from 58 to 60 years, regularisation of daily wagers in different government departments and removal of pay anomalies.
Nearly 4.5 lakh employees remained off duty today in response to 3 day strike called by the JCC of government employees. However, the work in Civil Secretariat was not affected by the strike.
The protest marches were held at district headquarters by state government employees across the state to press for their demands.
Meanwhile, over 1000 employees including their top leadership have left for Srinagar from Jammu and other parts of the province to take part in the Civil Secretariat `Gherao’ programme tomorrow. They include Ram Kumar Sharma, Prushotam Sharma, Balwan Singh Jammwal, Madan Sangral, Kulwant Singh, Shahid Hussain and Ganesh Khujuria.
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