Karnataka Secretariat employees to boycott work on Friday, govt calls it 'illegal'
Bengaluru, May 26: A section of the Karnataka Secretariat employees have decided to skip work on Friday, by calling for "Secretariat Bandh", to protest against the state government's move for "rationalising the workforce" by reducing staff, along with other demands.
Terming the bandh call as "illegal", the government on Thursday said it has taken note of the move "very seriously".
Asking all officials and employees of the Secretariat to compulsorily attend office, Chief Secretary P Ravi Kumar in a circular said, in case of absence without prior permission from superiors, it will be considered as "dies-non" (not qualifying for any remuneration).
He also warned of disciplinary action and a criminal case against those causing obstruction to officials and staff, willing to attend work on Friday.
About 5,000 employees working in the Secretariat and Legislature at Vidhana Soudha, Vikasa Soudha and M S Building, are expected to skip work on Friday, Karnataka Government Secretariat Employees Association President P Guruswamy claimed.
They are against the government's plan to implement the recommendations of the Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission-2, and have alleged that the state government has not reached out to them to address their concerns in this regard.
The Commission has recommended "rationalising the workforce" at government offices by scrapping non-essential posts.
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US VP JD Vance says Lebanon not part of ceasefire, calls it ‘misunderstanding’
Budapest/Washington: US Vice President J D Vance has said that Lebanon was never included in the ceasefire understanding with Iran, describing the confusion as a “legitimate misunderstanding”.
Speaking to reporters before departing from Hungary, Vance said, “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t. We never made that promise.”
He stressed that the United States had not included Lebanon in the scope of the ceasefire at any stage.
His remarks come amid continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, where more than 200 people were reported killed, even as ceasefire talks between Iran and the US move forward.
Vance said Israel had “offered … to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful”.
He warned that if Iran allows the situation in Lebanon to affect the negotiations, it could derail the talks.
“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” he said.
