Health employees seek exemption from poll duty

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 4

While citing the Election Commission rules, employees of the district Health Department have written to the Deputy Commissioner-cum- District Election Officer to exempt them from the poll duty as it would affect the medical services.

Employees stated in the letter that the Election Commission of India had exempted health staff, including medical officers, nurses and others, from the poll duty as health services were considered an emergency service.

Ashok Kumar, a leader of the employees, said, “The district administration has assigned duties to a large number of health employees. This would not only affect medical services on the election day, but on many other days too when election staff would be required to attend rehearsals and meetings.”

He said employees were troubled by the administration’s decision and had written to the District Election Officer so as to bring the issue to his notice.

Ashok Kumar said, “During the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, a large number of health employees were assigned election duties, but later they were given an exemption by the administration.”

Ashok Kumar further said the Election Commission of India still had the same rules. Even the Punjab State Election Commission had issued a letter demanding that rules of the Election Commission of India should be followed while assigning election duties to employees, he said.

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