Hyderabad, August 02: The 12 Ministers from Telangana, who had kept off their official chambers and duties since July 4, received their fat salary packets on Monday, the first of August, in stark contrast to the official slogan of ‘No Work No Pay’ issued when the Telangana staff struck work in February/March as part of non-cooperation agitation to realize their demands.
The ‘No Work No Pay’ rule was one of the factors, though unsaid, which had forced the employee unions to consider their fate and get back to their duties, but seemingly, when it comes to Ministers, rules are of little consequence.
As seen at the Secretariat on Monday, the 12 Telangana Ministers who received their salaries along with the three Ministers, Danam Nagender, Mukesh Goud and Deputy Chief Minister C Damodar Rajanarasimha who were the exceptions and did not resign received their salaries. The three Ministers had worked without attracting any controversy.
On an average, each Minister’s net pay was said to be Rs 1.40 lakh excluding perks and other fringe benefits. The only saving grace was that their resignations have not been accepted so far.
Sources said that nowhere in the country in the past so many Ministers, shedding their responsibilities and duties took their pay packets as scheduled. A veteran said that the Ministers who were paid must take to ‘soul searching’.
‘It is compulsory particularly for a public representative to do soul searching in such a situation. People will emulate them, whether they are good or bad. There is a possibility of creating a bad inclination among the duty bound citizens,’ the veteran observer said.
A senior employee, understandably under the condition of anonymity, wondered, ‘Do they not have conscience to claim their full pay without turning a file in the Secretariat?’
Hundreds of files are said to be gathering dust and their disposal suffering for want of Ministers. An official said that the Ministers were found wanting for settling other issues also apart from files’ clearance.
When asked about the absenting Ministers at the Group of Ministers meeting at the Secretariat earlier in the day, it was clarified that those who did not attend the Cabinet Sub-Committee conveyed their suggestions and views on the Racha Banda subject.
On one hand, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has made clear that the government is running short of funds and was incapable of maintaining the prestigious G M C Balayogi Stadium, which was a landmark in the country. In official parlance what the government announced was quite incompatible with what it practiced.
The Telangana Employees’ JAC, which threatened to launch its agitational programme from August 1, differed for fear of attracting the maintenance of Internal Security Act. Their demands are considered just. They sought implementation of GO 610, deletion of Clause 14 F, repatriation of employees among others.
They ended their 22-day old stir earlier after an assurance was received, but the fact remains that the Telangana employees stand hoodwinked.
—–Agencies