In an intense session in the Chhattisgarh assembly, the BJP, the main opposition party, criticised the ruling Congress for allegedly failing to uphold its election promise to regularise the services of contractual workers across various departments. The dispute led to a temporary adjournment of House proceedings.
The opposition, spearheaded by leaders such as Narayan Chandel, Dharamlal Kaushik, Brijmohan Agrawal, and Ajay Chandrakar, expressed discontent over the situation of over 400,000 contractual and daily wage workers. These workers, they noted, have been protesting for 15 days under the banners of 145 organisations, urging the government to regularise their services as previously pledged by Congress during the 2018 assembly polls. The opposition stated that official operations have been significantly disrupted due to these ongoing protests, yet the government seems to ignore the situation. Rather than regularising jobs, the government has merely increased their salaries, a move the opposition equated to handing a “toy” to the disgruntled workers. When a demand for immediate discussion on this issue was rejected, it prompted a vocal protest from BJP legislators. Despite the tension, the Chair remained adamant that the opposition would be given sufficient time to discuss during a no-confidence motion to be introduced by the BJP later.
On a related note, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel announced on Wednesday a 27% salary increase for 37,000 contractual workers in state departments, and a Rs 4,000 monthly hike for daily wage employees.
