Govt takes U-turn on regular jobs

Pradeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 17

After preparing a draft Bill on regularising the services of 4,654 employees adversely affected by a recent judgment of the Punjab and High Court, the state government has taken a U-turn on the matter by deciding to file a special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court against the HC verdict.

On May 31, the HC had quashed four policies framed by the Haryana Government in 2014 to regularise the services of contractual and ad hoc employees.

The decision to file the SLP was taken at a meeting presided over by Advocate General Baldev Raj Mahajan and attended by former Advocate General Hawa Singh Hooda, INLD’s representative Naresh Singh Shekhawat and Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh’s (BMS) representative Parvinder Chauhan.

Official sources claimed it was decided unanimously that the state government and the BMS would file the SLP.

State INLD president Ashok Arora, however, disputed the government’s claim the decision was taken unanimously. “At no point during the meeting did the INLD representative concur with the government’s changed stance about employees affected by the HC order,” he said.

“The INLD is not aware of the reason behind the government changing its stand from bringing a Bill in the Vidhan Sabha to filing the SLP,” Arora said.

Recently, after meetings with the Sarv Karamchari Sangh, the state government prepared the Haryana Regularisation of Services Bill, 2018. It was to be brought in the forthcoming monsoon session of the Assembly.

The draft Bill sought to regularise the services of Class ‘C’ and ‘D’ contractual employees of the Haryana Government affected by the May 31 judgment.

Point & counter-point 

It has been decided unanimously that the state government and the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh will file a special leave petition in the Supreme Court against the High Court decision on the regularisation policy. — Government spokesman

At no point during the meeting did the INLD representative concur with the government’s changed stance about employees affected by the HC order. The government’s claim is mischievous and a distortion of facts. — Ashok Arora, State INLD Chief