Dehradun: The main opposition party in Uttarakhand has reacted angrily to the Personnel Department’s demand for property details from employees. The Congress has termed it harassment of employees before the assembly elections.
Congress furious over demand for employees’ property details: Under the Employee Service Rules, employees and officers are required to submit details of their assets to the Personnel Department every year. As a reminder, the Personnel Department recently issued another reminder letter to all employees, asking them to provide details of their assets. The opposition party, Congress, is calling this harassment of employees.
Ganesh Godiyal said this is an attempt to intimidate employees: Congress state president Ganesh Godiyal said:
“This is a burning issue in Uttarakhand right now, where the government is cracking down on employees just before the assembly elections. By instilling fear about their assets, the government is trying to show the employees what will happen to them if they don’t support the Bharatiya Janata Party in the upcoming elections. It is extremely regrettable that the government is asking employees to make their property details public, but it is oblivious to the fact that there are several ministers who are accused of possessing assets disproportionate to their income. Why is the government not saying anything about their assets? Why are they still in the cabinet?”
– Ganesh Godiyal, Congress State President –
Godiyal demanded that the assets of ministers and MLAs be made public: The Congress state president said that the government is currently trying to intimidate employees just before the elections so that the employees either remain silent out of fear or support their political ideology. He said that this is part of the government’s political strategy. This is a game of political pressure by the government. He said that the government’s ministers and MLAs should first make their assets public, and then apply the rule to everyone else. BJP calls it a routine procedure: On the other hand, senior BJP spokesperson and MLA Vinod Chamoli said that:
According to the employee service rules, employees are required to submit details of their assets every year. This system has been in place for a long time. There is nothing new in this. The officers and employees are the ones who are collecting the information, and the same people are providing it. Since this process was not being followed properly, a reminder order has been issued again.
-Vinod Chamoli, BJP Spokesperson-
Vinod Chamoli is in favor of strict action against those who do not disclose their assets: Chamoli said that this should be strictly enforced. Some more restrictions should also be imposed. For example, if an officer or employee does not disclose their assets, all their promotions and increments should be stopped. Vinod Chamoli said that such steps are necessary to reduce corruption in the system. Regarding the assets of MLAs and ministers, he said that MLAs and ministers who contest elections make their assets public during the election process. This should not be compared to the situation of officers and employees.
