Taking a strong note of DGP BS Sidhu having reportedly told the agitating constables and head constables that he would quit, if the State Government failed to release their increased grade pay arrears by December 31 this year, Chief Minister Harish Rawat has asked DGP to explain why he had gone for such a ‘provocative’ statement when tension was still brewing in the force.
The CM said the reported assurance assumed grimmer connotation when it was juxtaposed against the Chief Secretary having clearly stated the State Government’s stance on the matter. CS had pleaded the State Government’s inability to pay increased grade pay arrears while addressing a Press conference last week, citing the escalating impact of such a move on the State Exchequer. He said meeting such demands would make the State Government to bear the extra burden of whopping `2,200 crore.
Meanwhile, children of police personnel can be seen roaming along with the placard carrying message for the Chief Minister.
DGP Sidhu seemed ready to go to any length in his commitment to the cause of the police constables and head constables, presently in sulking mode over the alleged discrimination in clearance of their dues vis-à-vis the employees of other departments. He had called a Press conference at 4.15 pm on Tuesday. However, later, it was cancelled with the State’s top cop citing no reason behind the flip-flop. But it is clear that the CM’s stern message conveying a thinly-veiled threat of having him sidelined in case he dared stick to his guns seemed to have mellowed him down a bit.
It would be pertinent to mention here that Uttarakhand police constables and head constables had tied black badges on their sleeves on August 16 by way of venting anger against the State Government on the issue. Although the matter has been doing rounds over the social sites senior police officers have so far failed to identify the instigators behind the stir.
Observers feel that the aggrieved cops have thrown a dare to the senior police officers and the political leaders by taking recourse to such a stir, unprecedented in the annals of the State’s 15 years’ history. With the heat continuing in the force, the seniors were supposed to have agreed to convey the resentment to the power that be through proper forums.
Sidhu initially had sought to downplay the matter, but when he realised that the tell-tale signs of grumbling tended to snowball into a full-blown stir he resolved to throw his full weight behind them.
CM stepped in the nick of time and convened a special meeting of Home Department officials and asked them to resolve the logjam amicably. ADGP Anil Kumar Raturi was asked to act from all possible angles to mollify the aggrieved cops.
Meanwhile, the crisis deepened with the police personnel posting the pictures of their kids, appealing to the State Government to give their parents increased grade pay arrears.
Assuring the aggrieved police constables of his continued support to their cause, Sidhu had appealed to them on August 22 to desist from any kind of stir that would affect discipline in the force. He also said he would quit in case their salary-related grievances remained unaddressed by December 31. He said his successor would accomplish things better in case he failed to rise to the challenge .
He, however, in the same breath, advised policemen to restrain themselves from any agitation against the State Government, warning them against the agent provocateurs intent on driving wedges between them and the State Government.
Now, it would be interesting to see how he would wriggle out of the bind with the CM having taken a no-nonsense stance on the emotive issue.