Indore (Madhya Pradesh): One wrong move can change the tide against you; the saying fits in letter and spirit in the case of striking self-finance employees of Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya (DAVV).
The employees, who were giving headache to university administration over non-fulfillment of their demands and were getting support from teachers and even some executive council members as well, saw the tide changing against them within a few hours after they gheraoed the car of vice chancellor Prof Rakesh Singhai, which prompted him to come out of the vehicle and sit on a platform outside the UTD’s entrance gate on Saturday.
This incident did not go well with the teachers, officials and even executive council members.
While many teachers and officials went to the residence of the VC on Sunday in his support, five EC members wrote a letter to the Chancellor seeking strict action against employees involved in Saturday’s incident. The EC members include Om Sharma, Anant Pawar, Dr AK Dwivedi, Vaishali Waikar and Monica Goud.
In their letter, the EC members said, “We strongly condemn the unfortunate incident wherein some employees behaved rudely, inappropriately and indecently with the VC. The conduct is not only an insult to the dignity of the university, but is also a disgusting example of indiscipline.”
The EC members also dubbed the strike “completely unconstitutional” and against discipline. “Despite repeated attempts by the university administration to establish dialogue and invite the striking employees for talks, the employees continued to ignore it, which is extremely regrettable and condemnable,” they said.
The EC members requested the Chancellor to ensure immediate strict disciplinary action against those involved in Saturday’s incident to prevent recurrence of such acts.
In the same letter, the EC members also gave a warning to striking employees. “If the strike is not called off immediately, salary will not be payable for the period of strike. All employees are expected to return to work immediately. Otherwise, the administration will be forced to suspend them or take other strict disciplinary action against them,” the missive reads.
Meanwhile, Self-Finance Employee Association president Deepak Solanki claimed that the university administration had called the office-bearers of the association to meet on May 6, but later the meeting was postponed citing the busy schedule of the VC. He said that the strike will continue till all 14 demands of the association are met.
