Panaji: In what could be the beginning of another head-banging session between Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, Sawant on Tuesday promised to probe the sacking of anganwadi workers, who had staged public protests ahead of the February 14 elections.
Sawant was speaking to reporters outside his official residence in Panaji, after a meeting with Leader of Opposition Michael Lobo, who had urged Sawant to reconsider the Health Ministry's action.
"Opposition leader met me in connection with some work. He came with several people. Anganwadi workers came to tell me that there may have been some misunderstanding. I did not know. They told us that we were wrong. I will ask the Director why they were suspended," Sawant said, adding that he would seek the government file related to the issue and examine the matter.
Earlier, speaking to reporters Lobo said that the termination was unfair and added that he had urged the Chief Minister to forget about the past verbal clashes between anganwadi workers and the government.
"You will remember that there was a strike here and seven of them who took part in the strike were terminated. So we have requested the CM not to sit with the old (skirmishes). That was before the elections. After the elections you have become the CM once again and you have to give justice. As LoP I have told him that we have to protect their interests because all these years they were working and all of a sudden they are being terminated because of that strike," Lobo said.
"Seven were terminated, they also cried there that this is their job, they are facing great difficulty in their house because finally they live on that salary and their parents and their children go to school using this money. Finally, we are all humans and we have to maintain this humanness and we have to help them," Lobo said.
Lobo also said CM had assured to release the Dayanand Social Security Scheme pension backlog by next week.
"He said he will release the money. I think that by next week they will release the money. I told them (about the) difficulty faced by all our Goan ladies. They had promised to increase the (pension) money, but forget that, at least give what was being given and what was stopped," he said.
Lobo also said that he had urged the Chief Minister to allow rent-a-vehicle licence holders to split their licence to allow their relatives to purchase new vehicles, which he said does away for the need to issue new licences.
This news is reported by The Goan. To read more GOA news visit The Goan.
