The joint forum of state government employees in West Bengal, which is leading the movement against non-payment of enhanced dearness allowance and the arrears accrued on it, said on Friday that its members will not join poll-related duties for the forthcoming panchayat elections in the absence of security cover by central armed forces.
A delegation of the joint forum led by its convener Bhaskar Ghosh went to the State Election Commission (SEC) office on Friday and submitted a memorandum in this regard.
“We have clearly informed the SEC that without the deployment of central forces, we will not join poll-related duties for the panchayat elections. We are also speaking on behalf of the state police personnel, who like us have been denied their legitimate right for enhanced dearness allowance and the arrears accrued on it,” Ghosh said.
Supporting the joint forum, BJP’s national Vice President Dilip Ghosh said that the demand is justified because everyone barring the state government is asking for the deployment of central forces for the panchayat polls.
“As it is, the state government employees have been denied their legitimate right for enhanced dearness allowance. In such a situation, they cannot risk their lives by performing poll duties without central forces security cover considering the past history of violence and bloodbath in the state during elections,” he said.
Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Santanu Sen, however, described the demand of the state government employees as highly unjustified.
“When the state government and the SEC are assuring to hold free, fair and violence-free panchayat polls, the state government employees should have faith on us. They are unnecessarily trying to create an issue in this matter,” Sen said.
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