CM Omar urges daily wagers to end strike, BJP MLAs walk out over issue
The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly witnessed heated exchanges on Tuesday as Opposition members raised the issue of striking Jal Shakti (PHE) department workers, whose protest has triggered a water crisis in parts of Jammu. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah appealed to the workers to call off their strike, assuring them that the government was addressing their concerns.
The uproar began after the question hour when BJP leader and Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma demanded government intervention, stating that he had raised the issue but received no response.
Demanding the release of their wages and regularisation of jobs, the daily wagers in the department have been on a strike for the last four days. The police in Jammu foiled an attempt by striking daily wage workers to march towards the CM’s residence on Tuesday.
Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary responded by accusing BJP legislators of remaining silent on the issue during the last 10 years of Central rule and the previous PDP-BJP coalition.
“Why didn’t you form a committee earlier? Why no protests for 10 years? You did nothing back then,” Choudhary said, prompting a sharp retort from BJP members who argued that he was deviating from the issue. The exchange escalated into a commotion, with BJP MLAs later staging a walkout.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah intervened, clarifying that the government had already formed a committee to address the workers’ demands. “The committee was not set up due to any agitation. In fact, the protest began after its formation, which is surprising. We will go deep and find out who is responsible for this,” he said.
He defended the committee, which includes senior officers under the Chief Secretary’s supervision, and urged the Opposition to trust the process. “If they don’t have faith in the Chief Secretary, I can’t help that. But I have full confidence in the committee’s fairness. It will submit its recommendations to the government in six months,” Omar said.
Appealing to the workers to call off strike, he added, “Once the committee begins its work, present your demands directly to them. The government will act on its recommendations.”
