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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EAC-PM Chairman Bibek Debroy passes away
New Delhi (PTI): Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) Chairman Bibek Debroy passed away this morning, a senior EAC-PM official said.
He was admitted to AIIMS.
Debroy (69) was educated in Ramakrishna Mission School, Narendrapur; Presidency College, Kolkata; Delhi School of Economics; and Trinity College, Cambridge.
He had worked in Presidency College, Kolkata; Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune; Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Delhi; and also as the Director of a Ministry of Finance/UNDP project on legal reforms.
He was also a Member of NITI Aayog up to June 5, 2019. He has authored/edited several books, papers and popular articles and has also been a Consulting/Contributing Editor with several newspapers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled Debroy's passing and called him a "towering scholar".
"Dr Bibek Debroy ji was a towering scholar, well-versed in diverse domains like economics, history, culture, politics, spirituality and more. Through his works, he left an indelible mark on India's intellectual landscape. Beyond his contributions to public policy, he enjoyed working on our ancient texts, making them accessible to the youth," he said in a post on X.
He also shared a picture of himself with Debroy.
