Srinagar: The state’s employees find themselves locked in a credit war after the ruling ally Congress nearly snubbed the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah with a we-actually-did-it remark, after Omar granted over five lakh employees their long pending wish.
The anguish publicly expressed by Congress and privately conveyed by the opposition PDP has forced the employees’ leaders to praise Chairman of Hurriyat Conference G for extending moral support to their struggle for employment benefits.
Leader of the Joint Consultative Committee, an amalgam of various unions, Abdul Qayoom Wani and his colleagues have thanked the state government and several other pro-freedom leaders including Syed Ali Shah Geelani for their moral support. But the JCC was quick to clarify that the unions representing employees were apolitical in their conduct and practice.
Political associations cutting across religious and ideological lines extended their support for resolving the issues of employees. I thank all of them on behalf of the employees and JCC leadership Qayoom Wani said in statement.
Pertinently, last year employees were mistreated by police while protesting for their demands. Several employees had to face the government ire besides inviting the wrath from High Court and public ridicule more so when one of their top leaders, Khurshid Alam, joined PDP.
EJAC has also made it clear that employees unions are apolitical and dont support any political party. He said that it is a wrong notion that EJAC has only appreciated the role of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah while the fact is that, we always mention the name of the Congress party as well. We gave credit to Coalition government and not to a single person or single political party, said Qayoom Wani who heads JCC.
Addressing a press conference here, Wani said that it was the right of the employees as they bore all the hardships from past several years in persuading the government to enhance the retirement age.
Thanking all the organizations including separatist leaders for providing them moral support from time to time, Abdul Qayoom Wani said that possible confrontation between the government employees and the state government was averted by Chief Minister and he in time took this decision. Police broke lathis on us, our leadership was lodged in different jails from time to time but we did not budge. Today employees have every right to celebrate, he said.
When asked was it a politically motivated decision, Wani said that he does not know what were the compulsions of the government and why it took this decision but, I only know that, we have succeeded in our mission and there is every reason to celebrate this victory, he said adding that EJAC hopes that the government will address all the other problems of the employees as well.
EJAC chairman appealed the government to revoke the suspension order of Doctors Association Kashmir president Dr Nisar-ul-Hasan. I personally appeal Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to intervene into the matter and get his suspension order revoked, he said.
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