Gujarat’s BJP government, beset by a string of recent agitations, has set up a committee of five ministers to resolve issues that could otherwise spark protests in the state, which will hold assembly elections soon. The move is seen as an attempt to derail the opposition’s efforts to fuel protests in order to delegitimize the government.
“Gujarat government has formed a committee of five ministers, which has been entrusted with the responsibility of winding up the various agitations going on,” according to a government statement.The committee comprises ministers Jitu Vaghani, Rishikesh Patel, Kanubhai Desai, Harsh Sanghvi and Brijesh Merja.
As elections approach, a number of state government employee groups started questioning the administration about their demands. The first to start an uprising was the police force. The government quickly announced a Rs 550 crore package for the police force on August 14.
On Thursday, RSS body Bharatiya Kisan Sangh staged a protest in Kutch and Banskantha districts over the pending issues of farmers in the state. Their main demand is the availability of power at a uniform rate to the farmers. Those with horsepower connections should not be charged more. They have been protesting for one month across Gujarat.
A similar protest was launched by 9,000 panchayat Talati-cum-Mantri (clerks) of the Panchayati raj department. The demands were related to their service and salaries. Sources said due to this issue, Revenue Minister Rajendra Trivedi had to leave the portfolio recently. The government eventually accepted their demand and the protests have stopped for now.
Ex-servicemen from Gujarat also agitated for more than six months in support of demands including increased compensation for the kin of martyrs. The compensation was recently raised by the government from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 1 crore. Since August 8 a total of 26,000 healthcare workers have been on strike under the leadership of the Gujarat State Health Employees’ Federation. The agitation is continuing despite the health minister’s assurances that their demands would be taken into consideration.
According to sources, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is aware of the situation and during his visit to the state BJP office on last Sunday asked for a meaningful dialogue with the protesters by the end of this month.
Protesting in the state
- Police personnel
- Farmers
- Talati-cum-Mantri (clerks) of Panchayat department
- Ex-army servicemen
- Healthcare workers of different cadres
- Gujarat state employees