National Conference President Farooq Abdullah Thursday termed the formation of a task force to monitor J&K employees an assault on their rights, saying that the termination of employees amidst a pandemic was deplorable and callous.
In a statement issued here, Abdullah caller the measure of scrutinising the J&K employees with a taskforce arbitrary and unwarranted infringement of the labour rights.
He said that the measure smacks of a colonial hangover that gives sweeping powers to government with minimal safeguards to protect the interests of the employees, putting them at disadvantage of being labeled as “anti-national” at the drop of a hat.
“Such measures might be used against anybody who wounds the vanity of the government or criticizes its policies. There is a stark distinction between being anti-national and having an opinion. Such a law was not required at first place because there are already required service rules that deal with such employees who are involved in any wrong activity. The task force will impede the work culture in the government departments as the employees might land up being terminated even by wounding the vanity of the higher-ups,” Abdullah said.