JK budget session to be stormy, social media use order likely

The upcoming budget session of the Jammu and Kashmir legislature is set to be stormy as the opposition Congress is planning to take up the recent government order to its employees restricting airing of political views on social media among other issues.
Congress legislators from both the houses were briefed recently and will meet again on the eve of budget session, scheduled to start on January 2 next year, to discuss issues concerning the people and making the government accountable, state Congress chief G A Mir told reporters at the sidelines of a party function here.
Mir and senior Congress leaders had assembled at the party headquarters to celebrate the 133rd foundation day of the party. They also unfurled the party flag.

Criticisng the government for its order to employees not to use social media for airing political views, Mir said those in government service are employees from 10 am to 4 pm and later a common man who has every right to live his life.
"The order shows how scared the government is. It is a totally undemocratic decision and if not withdrawn, it will be the biggest issue during the budget session," he said.
On December 26, the government barred its employees from using their social media accounts for any political activity by amending the conduct rules governing them.

The state government added a sub-rule in the Jammu and Kashmir Government Employees Conduct rules which states that no government employee shall engage in any criminal, dishonest, immoral or notoriously disgraceful conduct on social media which may be prejudicial to the government.

"They shall also not use their personal social media accounts for any political activity or endorse the posts or tweets or blogs of any political figure," the rule states.
Social media has become an important platform and if anyone is coming out with points or propogates the stand of his union or association, why are you silencing him, asked Mir.
He said the party legislators would seek answers from the government over its failure to implement its Agenda of Alliance, development inertia, tussle over political issues between the coalition partners and back door appointments.
"We will take up every issue concerning the people of all the three regions, whether political or developmental, to make the government accountable and answerable," he said adding the Congress would seek an answer from the government for "backdoor political adjustments" of party leaders who were made vice chairmen of various corporations.

Referring to the regularization of 60,000 casual and daily wagers by the government, he claimed it was a big joke with the youth who served the department for over two decades as the government were given different pay scales depending on the period of their service.
The Congress leader alleged that over 60,000 other workers were ignored because of "political considerations".