His call for a better work culture, at least in government offices, also took a beating on Thursday in his very secretariat, the Writers’ Buildings. The Mahakaran Sangram Committee — an umbrella organisation comprising eight state government employees’ unions of the opposition parties — resorted to dharnas, processions, deputations and a pen-down strike, demanding for the right to hold rallies in the building at all hours. As a result, there was no work at the backyard of Bhattacharjee’s own office.
The chaos peaked on Thursday with processions taken out by the unions as members marched through various departments and corridors of the state secretariat. A pen-down strike was simultaneously on from 10 am in the morning to 2 pm in the afternoon.
The agitating employees tried to barge into the protected area, with many of them jostling with a handful of policemen. The police, led by Deputy Commissioner (Central), Damayanti Sen, had to resort to a lathicharge to control the secretariat employees from gatecrashing and entering the protected area. “At least 10 employees and several policemen, including Damayanti Sen, were injured,” said Home Secretary Asok Mohan Chakrabarti.
Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta, who was leaving for Delhi in the afternoon and was a witness to the chaotic scenes, said: “I will have a word with the Chief Minister about this.”
On Wednesday, Chief Secretary Amit Kiran Deb had issued a circular, copies of which were released to the press on Thursday, stating that it was mandatory for the employees’ unions to take a prior permission for taking out rallies in the state secretariat. Such rallies can be allowed only during the lunch hour and with prior approval of the authorities, the circular added. “We are not going to abide by this circular. Neither will the Coordination Committee members,” said Sanket Chakrabarty, joint secretary of the Mahakaran Sangram Committee.
Interestingly, a large number of those dissenting, belong to the Coordination Committee of the state government employees — backed by the CPM. On Thursday, these members however did not participate in the rally but sympathised with the pen-down since morning.
On September 9, Swapan Maitra, an assistant secretary in the Finance department, was allegedly manhandled by a section of the employees during a scuffle. He was targeted because he had issued showcause notices to six employees of the Finance department for their participation in a dharna during office hours on August 19.
That was the day it all started. The Mahakaran Sangram Committee took out a procession on August 19, and followed it up with demonstrations every day since then, demanding the cancellation of the Fifth Pay Commission. They also wanted the pay scales of state government government employees revised.
On Wednesday, Dasgupta had also announced he would set up a one-member committee to probe the scuffle. “We will not allow work culture at Writers’ Buildings to be disturbed. Departmental action will be taken against those who violated discipline,” he had said.