Jammu, Dec 23: Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary on Tuesday said that the J&K cabinet deliberated over the daily wagers’ issues and the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah-led government was contemplating their phase-wise regularisation.
Responding to media queries on the sidelines of an event, Choudhary, also the Leader of Opposition in J&K Legislative Assembly, Sunil Sharma alleging that he was missing in action and was not coming forward to clear the air vis-à-vis the raging controversy related to Ratle power project in Kishtwar.
Regarding queries about daily wagers’ issues, he said, “Yes, during the cabinet meeting, deliberations took place about daily wagers. It would be known to you that Omar Abdullah, even during his earlier tenure as the CM before 2014, had brought a scheme for the regularisation of Power Development Department daily wagers.”
“Our government still intends to regularise the daily wagers. Unfortunately, in the present changed scenario, J&K is a Union Territory and not a state. Thus, the funding we receive from the Centre is far less than what we used to get as a state, and thus, the funding is not adequate to regularise all daily wagers in one go. Therefore, the government is contemplating regularising them in a phased manner. This is a promise made by the CM Omar government and was also mentioned in the National Conference manifesto. It has been just one year in power, and we still have four more years. Rest assured, we will fulfil our promise before going to the next assembly polls,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.
About the renaming of MGNREGA, Choudhary said, “This question should be better directed towards the LOP Sunil Sharma, who has been missing for the past few days. Earlier, almost on a daily basis, he would come before the media questioning the Omar Abdullah government and criticising its functioning.”
He said that when the Omar Abdullah government is looking for him and questioning him about the allegations of the company executing the Ratle Power project, since two Kishtwar MLAs and other BJP leaders of Kishtwar are not allowing the company to function, Sharma is not coming forward.
“If Sharma has no role, then he should come forward to clear the air as to who those two MLAs of Kishtwar are or that influential leader of the BJP whose writ runs large in the affairs of power projects under execution in Kishtwar. Who is that person who sends slips for the persons to be employed in the power projects? None can supply sand, bajri without his slip or permission,” Choudhary alleged.
“It is not fair that today, when the allegations are levelled against him and other BJP leaders, they go into hiding and are not coming forward to respond. However, they don’t feel shy about levelling baseless allegations against others. This interference is not done. J&K cannot be run with the politics of lies and deceit. Every person of J&K, who is deserving and needy, should get a job in these power projects or elsewhere in J&K. The influence or proximity to certain individuals should not be the criterion,” Choudhary said.