CM urges workers to end strike, hold talks with Govt panel
Oppn, treasury benches trade charges against each other
Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, Mar 25: Amid ruckus and fierce trading of charges between the treasury benches and main opposition over the issues of daily wagers, all the BJP MLAs staged a walkout from the Assembly even as Chief Minister Omar Abdullah appealed the protesting workers to end their strike and enter into dialogue with the recently formed Government Panel for raising their grievances.
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Massive uproar over the issue continued for around half an hour with the opposition BJP and ruling National Conference members trading charges against each other and shouting of slogans.
Immediately after the Question Hour concluded in the Assembly this morning, Leader of Opposition and BJP leader Sunil Sharma raised the issue, demanding that the Government must hold talks with the protesting daily workers, who are demanding their regularization and release of wages.
“Since yesterday, I have been raising this serious issue of the daily wagers’ strike and the consequent drinking water crisis caused by it. I was expecting a reply but the Government has failed to respond and seems to be behaving in an arrogant manner,” he said.
This triggered a sharp and angry response from the Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary prompting a counter. “We have sympathies with the daily wagers and that is why a committee was formed by our Government for looking into their issues. But, why did not you regularize them in 10 years of your rule?” he said and accused the BJP of inciting the workers.
As Sham Lal Sharma and some other BJP members fiercely responded to the Dy CM’s allegation, the House soon plunged into a din with MLAs from treasury and opposition benches resorting to slogan shouting against each other.
BJP members raised slogans demanding justice for the daily wagers and holding talks with them while NC MLAs accused the former of failing to resolve the issue during their 10-year rule.
Minister of Youth Service and Sports, Satish Sharma also joined the arguments and said that Lt Governor as well as Home Ministry should take cognizance of yesterday’s incident of Police lathicharge on Daily Wagers for ensuring that no such use of force is repeated in future.
Even as Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather repeatedly tried to bring order to the House, the verbal duels continued. Maintaining that ruckus in the House would not resolve the issue, the Speaker appealed the representatives of protesting daily wagers to meet the Government panel.
In response to the Speaker’s appeal, Sham Lal Sharma said that Government should behave like a Government and Chief Minister should direct the committee members to visit the protesting daily wagers for listening to their issues.
This irked Dy CM Surinder Choudhary who said: “Why should we listen to their (BJP) lecture. When Lt Governor and Governor of their side were in power, why did not they regularize these daily wagers?”
Angered by this, Sham Lal Sharma asserted that matters concerning the Lieutenant Governor cannot be discussed in the House as per rules.
As the Speaker intervened once again for order in the House, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah made a statement on the issue and appealed the protesting daily wagers to call off their strike and hold talks with the Government panel.
“The House is in action today. It was peaceful until now. If we were not interested in resolving their (daily wagers) issue, we would not have formed the committee. We are surprised that protests are taking place even after the committee’s formation,” he told the House.
Expressing surprise that the strike was started after formation of the committee, Omar said that he would look into the reasons behind the protests. “You (BJP) are admitting that there was injustice against them, which means you accept that nothing was done for them in the last 10 years. We have taken the lead to resolve it,” he added and also took a dig at BJP MLA Sham Lal Sharma, telling him that as a Minister in the previous Government, he was aware of the steps taken to resolve the issue.
“A committee has been formed under the Chief Secretary. As Chief Minister of J&K, I appeal the daily wagers to call off their strike and take up your issues with the committee. I have full confidence on Chief Secretary and the officers concerned. Once the recommendations come, we will implement them,” he said.
After around 30 minutes of disruption in the proceedings amid heated exchange of words between the treasury and opposition benches , BJP MLAs staged a walkout from the House.
Later, talking to the media persons at the BJP headquarters, Sunil Sharma alleged that NC Government has no intention to address grievances of daily wagers and the formation of committee was an attempt to dodge the issue.
He said that the daily wagers were forced to adopt the path of strike due to the callous and non-serious attitude of Omar Abdullah led NC Government. “CM Omar Abdullah brushes off every question with ‘ten years’ and blames the previous Government. BJP was a part of alliance Government for three years, framed a high-power committee, and brought SRO-520 to regularize daily wagers, but the Government collapsed before its implementation,” he explained.
“LG administration took substantial steps to increase the salary to 9350 rupees, and this fact seems to be unknown to the present CM. To provide relief to daily wagers, the NC Government could have sent assurance to them or simply implement the policy designed by the Alliance Government”, he added.
Sham Lal Sharma, while sharing minute details over the issue, said that successive Governments in J&K progressed with adhoc approach which gave rise to the issue of daily wagers, need based, and casual labours. “They took the liberty of Article 370 to suit their own-benefits,” he said and recalled that first committee was framed in 2007 under the then CM Ghulam Nabi Azad in Congress & PDP Government, but the outcome was zero.
“11,129 daily wagers were regularized in Kashmir in PHE but only 855 from Jammu region were considered,” he said and added that the Cabinet sub-committee with Finance Minister A R Rather as the Chairman was constituted in 2014 and he had suggested regularizing these as there were 7200 water supply schemes, including 4800 in Jammu.
“Since more schemes were in Jammu and hence more daily wagers from here were to be regularized, NC demanded 10,000 people from Kashmir, which was refused by me and in protest I resigned submitting a dissent note since people from Kashmir were already given massive representation as compared to Jammu,” he said and challenged Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for an open debate on the issue in public domain with the facts and figures.
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