West Bengal government employees who are currently on a hunger strike demanding DA (dearness allowance) parity with the Union Government staff met Governor C.V. Ananda Bose on March 12. The Governor has urged the employees to end the fast “sit together and find an acceptable way out of the imbroglio”.
“Governor is deeply pained that the hunger strike of the aggrieved employees is entering its fourth week. The issues involved may be complex but there is always a simple way out,” a post on the governor’s official Twitter account said.
Protests organised by the Opposition parties in West Bengal and a strike called by a section of employees of the State government have kept police and the administration on their toes.
The strike was supported by the political parties in the Opposition, including the Left parties, Congress and the BJP.
The protesting employees held demonstrations outside the West Bengal government offices such as Writer’s Building, Bikash Bhavan, Khadya Bhavan, Swastha Bhavan, and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. Despite warnings issued by the government, the attendance in the government offices has been thin. The functioning of government offices was severely impacted by the strike.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said in the Assembly earlier this week that she would not be able to meet the demand for a DA hike even if the protestors “behead” her.
(With inputs from PTI)
