‎Continued NHM strike could leave govt with little choice but to act: Sakina Itoo

‎KNS Desk
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‎Srinagar, Sep 12 : Health Minister Sakina Itoo on Saturday warned that continued protests by National Health Mission (NHM) workers could leave the government with little choice but to take action, while appealing to the employees to return to work.
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‎Speaking to reporters, Itoo said the government did not want to take any such step as the protesting workers were part of the health system and their absence was affecting patient care.
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‎“If we go to protest like this, I don’t think it will be right. Sometimes, the government is forced to take a step that we do not want to take,” she said.
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‎The minister said the government had already begun examining the workers’ grievances and had taken up with the Centre issues that were beyond its control. She said she had met the employees before the protest and tried to persuade them to call it off.
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‎“For what is not in our hands, we have already sent your proposal to the Government of India,” Itoo said.
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‎The issue of low pay, she said, was among the matters she had personally raised with the Union Health Minister during her recent visit to Delhi.
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‎“I told him that their pay is very low. It is very expensive these days. He has accepted it,” she said.
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‎Itoo said she would send another reminder to the Centre to seek its intervention on the matter. She added that the issues of leave salary and pension benefits were also being examined by the J&K government.
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‎The minister sought to draw a distinction between the workers’ demands and the decision to continue the strike, saying the government was willing to address their grievances but their absence from duty was creating problems for patients.
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‎“They are our own people. They are our own children. They are our own brothers and sisters,” she said, asking them to return to their duties.
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‎Itoo also questioned the BJP’s role in addressing the NHM workers’ concerns, saying the party had been in power at the Centre since 2019.
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‎“I also want to ask those people who go and sit in their protests. Tell me, whose government is here after 2019? The BJP is running the government,” she said.
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‎“What has the BJP done for the workers since 2019? I want to ask them,” she said, adding that issues requiring funds or decisions from Delhi had to be addressed by the Centre.
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‎The minister also hit out at BJP leaders over the larger issue of Jammu and Kashmir’s political status. Referring to a leader’s reported statement about going to Delhi to bring orders, she said: “Go to Delhi and give us a state.”
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‎“You have destroyed Jammu and Kashmir. Nothing is on track today. Then you will ask us,” Itoo said.
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‎She again appealed to the NHM employees to end the strike, saying the government was examining their demands and would help wherever it had the authority to do so.(KNS)