Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, June 18: A day after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that Union leaders are playing with the future of educated youth in State for their petty personal interests; senior most State Government employee leader Khursheed Alam today announced resignation from his service.
While announcing his resignation, Alam said that the Chief Minister has defamed the struggle of over 4.5 lakh State Government employees by leveling charges against the employee leaders. The CM had said that employee leaders are playing with the future of educated and unemployed youth of the State and are snatching their bread and butter by asking for enhancement of the retirement age.
“It is not struggle for my personal interests. It is the struggle of 4.5 lakh State Government employees for which I am fighting”, said Alam.
He said that he was retiring on September 1 this year as Assistant Director Mills Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) but after the Chief Minister’s remarks he has decided to resign.
“I am putting up my papers tomorrow and I am no longer a Government employee”, said emotional Alam.
Alam is putting his papers of resignation from the service tomorrow before the Director CAPD Kashmir at Srinagar. He said that, however, his struggle for seeking implementation of the agreement which Government signed with the Government employees last year will be intensified.
The Government employees are demanding enhancement of the retirement age to 60 from the existing 58 years, regularization of daily-wagers engaged after 1994 and removal of pay anomalies in the clerical cadre, besides budgetary support for Public Sector Undertakings.
In the meantime, the Employees Joint Action Committee (EJAC-K) today passed a resolution in which Alam has been elected as lifelong president of the EJAC (K). As per a similar resolution CAPD employees have also made Alam as lifelong president.
The decision by Alam came after Omar Abdullah ruled out enhancement of retirement age of State Government employees during a function of laying the foundation stone of a Degree College in Kellam area of Devsar constituency in Kulgam on Saturday.
The president of EJAC (R) Ram Kumar Sharma while reacting to Alam’s resignation said here that he should not have resigned as it is not his individual struggle as he is fighting for the cause of employees.
While reacting to Omar Abdullah’s remarks on some of the employee leaders, Kumar said that CM should not have made personal attacks. He said that the issue of the employee demands should not have been politicized by the CM. He said that employees will continue to fight for the implementation of the agreement. He clarified that employees are not against any person but they are against a Government policy.
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