Govt employees demand action on SC order

JAIPUR: The state government employees from the general and OBC categories staged a dharna outside the chief minister's office on Wednesday to demand implementation of the Supreme Court order that turned down "consequential seniority" benefits in promotions given to employees from the SC/ST categories.

Hundreds of employees of the state secretariat held a meeting in the open, shouted slogans and staged a sit-in outside the CMO, while the cabinet was discussing proposals related to the industry and agriculture departments. A delegation of the protestors later submitted a memorandum of their demand to chief secretary Salauddin Ahmed and chief minister Ashok Gehlot.

Last week, the apex court had turned down six appeals by the state government and the affected SC/ST employees against a Rajasthan High Court order that took away the benefit of consequential seniority' granted to the two reserved categories. The HC and the apex court found that the benefit being granted by the state was in violation of the M Nagraj Case decided in 2006.

"Time and again, the courts have held that the governments cannot give reservation in promotions or consequential seniority benefits to the SC/ST category employees until the conditions laid down in the M Nagraj case are fulfilled," the protestors' leader, Ram Niranjan Gaur told mediapersons. "The government is violating the court orders under pressure from the SC/ST category employees. But, the general and OBC category employees will now not allow the government to take such an anti-employee stand," Gaur asserted.

The protestors leaders said they were even planning to send a legal notice to the state government to demand prompt execution of the SC order passed on December 7 and the high court judgment passed on February 5 this year. With contempt petitions against CS Ahmed and principal secretary (personnel) Khemraj pending before the apex court in the same matter, the government is in a tight position and had to nullify the promotions recently granted to four officers in the excise department.

Source:Times of India