NEW DELHI: AAP Rajya Sabha MP and former Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson Swati Maliwal on Thursday slammed the termination order affecting 52 contractual employees of the commission.
Delhi ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj, too, attacked L-G VK Saxena and the BJP over the sacking of “illegally” appointed contractual employees of the DCW, alleging that the saffron party is the “biggest threat” to women. There was no immediate reaction from the L-G office.
The Women and Child Development (WCD) Department of the Delhi government terminated the services of 52 “illegally” appointed contractual staff of DCW, officials said on Thursday. The termination has been carried out on the basis of a report submitted by a committee way back in June, 2017.
Maliwal criticised the L-G’s decision, terming it as negative politics and counterproductive for the organization that has made significant strides in serving the women of the city. She questioned the timing of the order, noting it was issued only after her tenure as the DCW chairperson concluded.
Disputing the WCD claims, Maliwal said, “There are 90 staff in DCW out of which only eight are permanent and the rest 82 are contractual workers employed for low wages at three months contracts.”
Listing the achievements of the DCW, its former chairperson said, “The accomplishments of DCW are due to the collective effort of its staff. Over the past 8 years, DCW has handled over 1,70,000 cases, 181 Women Helplines have received over 40 lakh distress calls, and counselling has been provided to over 60,000 sexual assault survivors through the Crisis Intervention Center programme,” she added.
She said, if all the contractual staff are removed then “where will the hundreds of women who come to seek help here go?” “Is this their politics that rapists will roam free... What will L-G gain from such a narrow view?” Maliwal said.