Not leaving anything to chance in the election year, the BJP government in Gujarat on Saturday evening announced a Rs 550 crore package for the police force in the state. The announcement comes just four days after Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal promised the police force in Gujarat a salary that is at par with their counterparts in other states, if the party comes to power.
Policemen in Gujarat have been demanding a revision in grade pay. Kejriwal’s assurance on August 10 was one of the latest in the list of assurances given in the last one and half months.
Gujarat goes to polls by the year end to elect 182 MLAs.
No sooner did Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel took to social media to announce that the state government has approved a proposal of Rs 550 crore, than a section of policemen commented saying that it is a “lollipop”. People from various other departments like the state transport department started asking what happened to their demands.
Opposition Congress and the AAP were quick to react. Both the parties demanded a revision in the grade pay. Former Gujarat Congress president Arjun Modhwadia said that the state government’s announcement is a “lollipop”.
In a message, Modhwadia said that there are many states, poorer than Gujarat, which give a better grade pay. He pointed out that while the grade pay in Gujarat is Rs 1,800, in Punjab when the Congress was in power, the party revised the grade pay to Rs 4,600.
While demanding that there be a revision in grade pay for 65,000 policemen, who guard the border state, Modhwadia said that if the BJP government does not do this, then the Congress would implement it, should the party comes to power.
Modhwadia further said what the Congress is saying about the police force was part of the “Dwarka Declaration”, which was released at the end of the brain storming session a couple of months ago.
The state government said that a five-member high level committee was formed in October 2021 to look into the demands of the police force.
Following its recommendations, the government has decided to give/increase various allowances to lok rakshaks, constables, head constables and the ASIs.
The Congress said that allowances were the rights of the police force and what actually needed is a revision in the grade pay.
At an interaction with the masses on August 10, Gujarat unit president of AAP Gopal Italia had read out a letter written to Kejriwal by the daughter of a policeman. She had mentioned about the conditions in which the policemen work and requested Kejriwal to do something.
In reply to that, Kejriwal announced that if the AAP comes to power in Gujarat, it would give salary at par with other states. He had also extorted the policemen to keep their duty wherever they are and support the AAP in the manner they can.
Many policemen had changed their display pictures on social media handles and posted the announcement made by Kejriwal.