Accusing the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) Government of doing injustice to Government employees, former Union Minister and Congress candidate from New Delhi, Ajay Maken, on Saturday said that the Modi Government gave the worst recommendations in the seventh pay commission and never raised their plight in Parliament.
Hitting out at the BJP for its “anti-Government employee” stand, Maken said the 5th Pay Commission had recommended the constitution of the 6th Pay Commission by 1st January 2003 but the Modi Government refused to do so. “The 5th Pay commission had expressly recommended that when Dearness Allowance (DA) would become more than 50 per cent of the basic pay then it should be merged with the basic pay,” he said, adding that the DA became 52 per cent of the basic pay on 1st July 2002 but the same was merged only on 1st April 2004. This callous attitude towards Government employees led to them bearing financial losses for two years, he added.
Reiterating the charge that National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Governments’ policies are opposed to the welfare of Government employees, Maken said that on the pension scheme for employees was terminated on January 1, 2004.
Leveling various charges on the ruling BJP Government, he said that the party reduced the interest rate for General Provident Fund (GPF) thus adversely affecting the financial standing of Government employees. The casual leave (CL) has been reduced from 12 to 8, direct recruitment by NDA led Central Government were reduced by 1/3rd .Employment on compassionate grounds reduced drastically, he said.
Maken further stated that when Congress came to power they would regularise contractual Government employees. “The NDA Government has done away with the concept of Pay Commissions ignoring the welfare of Government employees,” he added.
He also promised to correct the anomalies in the 7th Pay Commission and to reduce the disparity between salaries of government employees.
Maken also asserted that if voted to power, the Congress will become the voice of the Government employees and will fill the 22 lakh vacant posts and also regularise the jobs of the contractual workers. Senior congress leaders Chattar Singh, Puja Bahri and other party workers were present on the occasion.