Imphal, April 24: Unfazed by the threat of punitive action by chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh, striking Manipur government employees are now preparing to take the pay battle to Delhi.
The employees are calculating the state’s projected cash flow for the current fiscal for submission to the Centre with the charge that the Ibobi Singh government had “committed serious financial irregularities and fudged fund figures.”
Ibobi Singh said on Thursday, that his government would not be able pay arrears (of the increased pay) from January 2006 as demanded by the employees. Yesterday, he threatened to take action against the employees if they failed to call off the cease-work.
The employees had gone on a ceasework from January 16 this year, demanding implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations.
At a media conference on Thursday, Ibobi Singh said the state government would incur a deficit of Rs 69.68 crore per month. Countering the claim, the Joint Administrative Council (JAC) of government employees, Manipur Secretariat Services Association, Council of Teachers Association and Manipur Pensioners’ Union today came up with a financial statement prepared by them projecting an annual surplus of Rs 232.83 crore for the 2010-11 fiscal.
“The financial statement produced by the chief minister has many irregularities. If the Ibobi Singh government can prove that the statement prepared by us is false, then the employees will call off the agitation,” JAC secretary general Ch. Chandramani Singh said today.“We are prepared to launch a “jail bharo” agitation and subsequently submit mass resignations,” he added.
In a related development, the Council of Teachers Association today sent a memorandum to the All India Primary Teachers Association for taking up their Sixth Pay Commission issue with human resource development minister Kapil Sibal.
Police today also picked up two strike leaders of the state secretariat.
