THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Finance Department on Thursday evening had transferred a member of the pro-LDF Secretariat Employees Association who revealed his helplessness to accept the government’s salary challenge. Later, Section officer K S Anilraj was reinstated after he, in a Facebook post, apologised for his action and said he would participate in the challenge.
On Wednesday, Anilraj had posted on Finance Friends, a WhatsApp group of Finance Department employees, that his wife - also a government employee - would accept the challenge, but liabilities won’t allow him to do the same. An earlier message by him had asked his colleagues not to ridicule those who cannot participate in the challenge. “Because most of us have extended some kind of support to flood victims. This should not be seen as a tug of war between the rich and the poor, but cooperation,” he said.
His post received both bouquets and brickbats. Anilraj’s second post said: “I’d agitated against the government for 32 days without salary. This time, me and my family and children did the maximum. Let mine be the first no against salary challenge. Me and my wife are government employees. Both of us wish to take up the salary challenge. But some liabilities are constraints. So my wife took up the challenge. I said no.”
However, he clarified that he was not against the government. “This is people’s government which stands by the people. With it always,” he added.On Thursday evening, Anilraj was transferred to the National Savings Scheme Office.Anilraj had earlier donated `5,000 to the CM’s Distress Relief Fund. Along with his children, he had volunteered at a relief material collection centre.
IUML asks govt not to ‘loot’ people
Kozhikode: Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has urged the state government to stop ‘looting’ people in the name of fund mobilisation for rebuilding the flood-ravaged state. “Instead of giving people the option to voluntarily donate towards the CMDRF, the government has forcibly taken away the salary of employees. This does not augur well for a democratic society,” said IUML state general secretary K P A Majeed. Employees should be given the freedom to donate as per their will and capability. Forcing them to contribute will only have a negative fallout, he reminded. The government order issued in this regard should be amended and contributions should be collected from those who come forward to take up the salary challenge voluntarily. A leader of the Left-backed employees’ union was shunted out for expressing his dissent towards the salary challenge, Majeed said. Though the state collected D1,200 crore, it has not started distributing the compensation to victims. Even the victims of Karinchola landslide disaster, which happened three months ago, have been denied compensation, he said.