Uttarakhand govt employees protest against reservation in promotion in Dehradun

Around two lakh Uttarakhand government employees have been on an indefinite protest in Dehradun demanding the removal of restrictions on promotion without implementing reservation.

Deepak Joshi, the president of state secretariat association, said that they are demanding the implementation of the February 7 Supreme Court order on the issue of reservation in promotion.

"We are protesting seeking the implementation of the Supreme Court order dated February 7, 2020. The government has become a silent spectator on removing restrictions in promotion. Uncertainty looms over the future of government employees as long as this order is not brought to effect," Joshi told ANI here on Wednesday.

He said that over two lakh state employees from the general and OBC category and their families have been protesting at the site since March 2.

The top court, in its February 7 order, had ruled that the state governments are not bound to provide reservations and said the court cannot direct the states to provide reservations.

On the other hand, Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Utpal Kumar Singh has urged the employees to call off their protest and said that the "strike is causing inconvenience" amid the ongoing efforts to contain the spread of deadly coronavirus.