Amid strong opposition from
the BJP and the Congress, the Odisha Essential Services (Maintenance) Act Amendment Bill that has the provision of imprisonment for striking government employees was passed in the assembly on Monday.
The Bill, moved by Minister of State for Home DS Mishra on behalf of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, was opposed by the members of the BJP and Congress for the penal provisions it has.
The Bill states that any person found instigating and funding illegal strikes henceforth, will be punishable with imprisonment for a term, which may extend to one year and/or imposed a fine up to Rs 5,000.
Besides, the new legislation also has the provision to prohibit strikes by any people employed in any essential service such as the Fire Services Department, Excise, Forest, Prison, Reforms and Electronics, among others.
Any strike declared by the employees after the passing of the Bill would be considered illegal, as per the provisions.
Mishra defended the Bill, saying that keeping in view the interests of the citizens, the government introduced this amendment so that they are not deprived of essential services.
"This bill will ensure no citizen is left out of services," he said.
The opposition alleged that it was an attempt to suppress the voice of the workers as they would not be able to put forth their demands even in a democratic manner.
Leader of Opposition PK Naik of the BJP said it is shocking to see the government was bringing such an amendment in the ESMA Act, 1988.
Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati criticised the government and said that the Bill is aimed to suppress the people's voice.
"Though the BJD remained in power for 21 years, it has failed to provide teachers to schools, doctors to hospitals. Therefore, people are now coming to the streets in protest," he alleged.
"The situation in Odisha is worse than what is being witnessed in Pakistan. People cannot do strikes, they cannot stage road blockades, there will be no bandh in any district. This Bill has been brought to exercise power and threaten the citizens of Odisha," he added.
The House also passed the Odisha Lokayukta (Amendment) Bill, 2020 and Odisha Local Fund Audit (Amendment) Bill, 2020,
moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister BK Arukha and Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari, respectively.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU