Revenue department officials and employees have postponed Tuesday’s statewide strike after MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan called them for talks to resolve the issue over his cabinet colleague “insulting” a tax inspector recently.
“We have postponed our strike in view of our proposed meeting with the CM,” said Bhuvan Gupta, president of the association of the state’s revenue employees. “We will decide our future course of action subsequently.”
The association is seeking action against minister for food, civil supplies and consumer protection Om Prakash Dhurve, who allegedly abused tehsildar Laxman Prasad Patel at a people’s programme in Anuppur district last week. The video of the incident at public welfare camp in Pushprajgarh went viral.
More than a dozen organizations of the employees and officers have extended their support to the revenue department’s officials and employees in their protest.
Dhurve denies having abused the tehsildar
Dhurve, who was inducted as a minister two months ago, denied having abused the tehsildar. “About 5,000 people had assembled for the Pushprajgarh programme, where revenue officers were missing for hours. This made the public angry,” he said. “I did scold the officers but I didn’t abuse anybody.”
The minister had courted controversy immediately after assuming office when he said he would teach BJP veteran Babulal Gaur a lesson for the latter sulking over his ouster as home minister from Chouhan cabinet .
{{/usCountry}}The minister had courted controversy immediately after assuming office when he said he would teach BJP veteran Babulal Gaur a lesson for the latter sulking over his ouster as home minister from Chouhan cabinet .
{{/usCountry}}This is not the first time public servants in the present government have been abused by ruling-party leaders. Recently, BJP MLA from Indore Sudarshan Gupta abused an assistant engineer of a power distribution company over an issue of a power bill.