Teachers and all other government employees who take part in protests against government policies after duty hours will not lose their pay, Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said.
He said this at a meeting with the principals and heads of colleges across Assam in Guwahati on Wednesday.
“We cannot prevent anyone from protesting or expressing his or her concerns in a democracy. But that does not mean school, college teachers and all other government officers and employees can take to the streets during duty hours. They should not even meet Ministers during the time they have to give to work,” said Mr. Sarma, who is also the Education Minister.
“The pay cut will apply to all — from the clerk to the doctor if duty hours are used for other activities,” he added.
‘Easing burden’
Mr. Sarma also announced a scheme under which approximately 20,000 students living in hostels would be given ₹7,000 annually toward “easing the fiscal burden” on their parents.
“We estimated that a hostel boarder spends about ₹1,400 per month for 10 months, excluding two months of holidays. We want to bear 50% of this expenditure and hope to raise the amount to finally foot the entire bill,” he said.
He added that the money would be deposited in the bank account of each student and the college principals were called for the meeting to work out with the Finance Department how to disburse the same. “We intend to deposit the amount before February 10,” he said.
The Sarbananda Sonowal-led government has been on a sop-giving spree after the violent protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act that left six people dead in Assam from December 12-14 last year.
These included a one-time grant of ₹50,000 to artistes and technicians of the State who had been leading the protests against the law.
