PM's help sought on ITS officers absorption issue
ITS alleges discrimination against telecom professionals in the Department of Telecom, BSNL and MTNL.
Accusing certain sections of bureaucracy of trying to "grab" control over burgeoning telecom sector, the Indian Telecom Service Association on Wednesday alleged discrimination against telecom professionals in the Department of Telecom, BSNL and MTNL.
"Certain sections of the bureaucracy, specially those in DoT, are trying to exterminate the Indian Telecom Service (ITS) cadre, (numbering 2,200 Group A officers) recruited by UPSC through the same process as those in IAS cadre," a statement from ITSA said.
"These officers are being forced to leave DoT and get absorbed in BSNL and MTNL on service conditions that are very inferior to their existing status. This is causing reluctance among the officers, who have been given time till September 30 to join the two PSUs."
ITSA said their members have not called for any strike and are not resorting to any agitation but are working and willing to continue to work in DoT, BSNL and MTNL. But they alleged that "a section of bureaucracy is bent upon grabbing control over burgeoning telecom sector in a planned manner".
ITSA has now turned to the Left parties to take up their cause in view of the deadline set by DoT.
Seeking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention, CPI (M) MP Dipankar Mukherjee in a letter to Singh has stated that DoT was making a contingency plan in the eventuality of non-availability of 2,000 officers.