BJP members stage walkout, exchange barbs with NC’s MLA over cane charges, and detentions of daily wage employees
Vikram Sharma
JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday announced the formation of a committee to address the issue of regularisation of daily wagers in Jammu and Kashmir and said that a roadmap will be prepared for presentation in the next budget session before the House.
This announcement was made by the chief minister while replying to the motion of thanks on the budget address in the Assembly.
“We want to reassure the daily-rated workers, ad-hoc, and casual workers that we have not forgotten them. I am announcing the committee in front of the Assembly, headed by the Chief Secretary, and will be issuing the official order today after my budget speech,” Abdullah told the House.
He said that the committee will include the Additional Chief Secretary in the Chief Minister’s Office, along with the Secretaries of the Planning, GAD, and Law Departments as members, and it will be headed by the Chief Secretary.
“The committee will be given six months to thoroughly review the number of daily wagers through GAD and assess the legal and financial aspects of their regularisation,” he added.
He noted that the Law Department has a key role to play after the Supreme Court’s judgment on the issue. “They will be asked to prepare a framework within six months. They should fix the figures. After assessing all aspects, including legal and financial, they should prepare a roadmap on how to proceed, so that in the next budget session, I can stand before you and say, ‘This is what we are going to do,’” he said.
Earlier, as soon the House convened for the day, opposition members brought up the issue of protests by daily-wage workers, who were demanding the release of their pending wages and the regularisation of their employment.
They strongly condemned the police’s use of force against the demonstrators. The situation in the House quickly escalated, leading to an uproar, with BJP members walking out as a verbal spat ensued between members of the BJP and the National Conference over the incident.
Amid the chaos, the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah intervened and addressed BJP MLA Vikram Randhawa, saying, “You have asked a question, please wait for the answer.” He went on to clarify, “As far as the police’s treatment of the protesters is concerned, I would like to remind Randhawa Sahab, who is making a noise about this issue, that unfortunately, neither you nor I have control over the police.”
The Chief Minister pointed out that instead of raising a ruckus inside the Assembly, it would have been more effective for the opposition to take up the matter a few kilometres away, where the real authority—the Lieutenant Governor’s office—was located. “It would have been more appropriate to go there and ask why they were beaten up,” he remarked, indirectly referring to the fact that Jammu and Kashmir is under central administration.
Reiterating his position on the plight of the protesting workers, Omar stated that the lathicharge was neither ordered by his government nor should it have happened. “Even today, I maintain that these employees are ours. Their issues are genuine. This is not merely a financial matter; it is a humanitarian issue. They should have been dealt with compassion and sensitivity,” he emphasized.
He further assured that the concern expressed in the House must have reached the ears of the police and that he hoped such incidents would not be repeated. “Next time, when these people fight for their rights, batons will not be used against them,” he added.
Despite the Chief Minister’s response, BJP MLA B S Mankotia raised another critical question, asking why the daily-wage workers were forced to take to the streets in the first place.
In a counterattack, Omar cited multiple budget speeches from the previous government (BJP-PDP) since 2015, arguing that they, too, had promised regularisation but failed to deliver. “They formulated an SRO for regularization at the fag end of the fourth budget. However, in four budget years, they managed to regularize only 570 out of approximately 61,000 such workers,” he said.
He further noted that after the fall of Mehbooba Mufti’s government, the SRO was scrapped under the J&K Reorganisation Act two years ago, closing the door for regularization. “Now, you ask why they came onto the streets? This was bound to happen because their path to regularisation was completely shut,” he said.
Declaring a fresh start, Abdullah announced, “We are starting from zero. There is neither an SRO nor any framework in place for it.”
NC MLA Nazir Gurezi took a jibe at the BJP, reminding them that their party had controlled Jammu and Kashmir through the Centre for ten years but had done nothing to resolve the grievances of the daily-wage workers.
As sloganeering continued from both opposition and treasury benches, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary stepped in to calm the situation. He assured the House that the government was committed to addressing the issue.
Taking a dig at the BJP, he said, “You have done nothing in ten years, and now you are suddenly talking about it. This doesn’t suit you.”
The controversy stemmed from Monday’s protest, when the police thwarted a march by hundreds of Public Health Engineering (PHE) daily-wagers who intended to gherao the civil secretariat. The demonstrators, raising slogans against the Omar Abdullah-led government for ignoring their demands in the recent budget, attempted to break police barricades. However, the police had set up concertina wires and other obstacles to prevent them from proceeding further.
The daily-wagers, estimated to 6000 across various departments, who have been fighting for their rights for years, have now threatened to go on a three-day strike starting March 20. These workers, crucial to the Jal Shakti department, earn a meager Rs 6,750 per month, which is in clear violation of the Minimum Wages Act. Many among them have completed 15 to 25 years of service without job regularisation.
