CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government is understood to have directed all deputy commissioners to arrest any government employee who refuses to perform election duty during the forthcoming elections it was learned.

The order issued recently by the chief secretary who is also the chief electoral officer comes in the wake of mounting refusals by various government employees unions to perform election duty. This has landed the state government in a fix considering that it requires about 90000 government employees for poll duty. These unions are using the occasion to seek concessions for their longstanding demands by giving threats to boycott the polls.

The state government’s woes can be understood from the fact that government employees from Rajathan Himachal Pradesh Haryana and Delhi too have refused to perform election duty in Punjab. Besides there are reports that several state government employees have received threats from militants warning them not to perform election duty?

“The militants who seek to benefit the most from the Akalis boycott are understood 10 have mounted a campaign in favor of a boycott in the rural areas Reports reaching here say that the underground Babbar Khalsa the most vociferous pro-boycott protagonist has put up posters in rural areas in several districts of the state ordering the people to keep way from the polling booths on February 19thescheduled polling ate Present indications are that there is likely be a very low turnout in the rural areas on polling day.

The two most prominent state government employees” unions which have refused to perform elections duty are the Punjab Non Gazette Government Officers Union and the Punjab Class Four Karamchari Union. Besides the Punjab Subordinate Services Union has also been pressing for the fulfillment of its demands and has indicated that it too may consider boycotting election duty.

Meanwhile the Akai Dal (Mann) has “welcomed” the refusal by the government employee’s unions to perform election duty. It has appealed to all government employees’ organizations associations and federations in the state to boycott the coming elections and thereby endorse the boycott call issued by various Akali and AISSE factions. It has also welcomed the refusal of government employees of several neighboring states to perform election duties in the state.

Article extracted from this publication >> February 14, 1992