RED LETTER DAY

 MAY DAY ON (1 MAY 2018)

 It was about spring and the end of year 1989 when the government employees were on strike and Mr Jamuna Singh was the then president of my Ministerial Employees Association.

I was appointed as a junior clerck on the compensation ground  at Governmemnt Press Aishbagh Lucknow in April 1989.

My pay scale was 354-550 and I had been paid first of my salary in cash Rs 1125. I was then very please and i enjoyed my salary with my friend Ranjeet Gautam. On pay day we both went to Hajratganj by rickshaw.

 After abiding my two or three months, there usually began to organise gate meetings daily and I was then new comers for this organisation.

Then Indian National Congress led government was ruling in  UP , and Rajeev Gandhi's trust lieutinent, Veer Bahadur Singh, was the chief minister of state.

Daily gate meeting and then ours service seniors'crowd began to go at gate 9 Darulshafa infront of Vidhan Bhawan(State Assembly) and i also joined this culture to look into this freak then.The glimpse of employees on the place apppeared to be closed spread in a vast area that the little space was not spared to stand there comfortably. The overcrowded people's surge were looked on road, shouting slogans- Jindabad and Murdabad...I was much excited.

The leaders of diffrent departments were invited to express their views, but on the stage where the senior leaders' speeches were going on, none of them were allowed more than 2 minutes to address the employees rally.

When the government restricted the strike and   prohibited, the meeting  place had been changed.

Our senior leaders used to hold the meeting at High Court Lucknow premises; and eventually these leaders got their agrreement with the state government that whatever perks would be allowed to the central emplyees would also be stepping up in the pay of UP Government emplyees.

In my reminisence, Mr Lalan Pandey was the leader of UP Federation of Ministerial Service Associations, and in his leadership employees got the new pay scale since 1986.

 My basic pay had been revised in the pay scale of 950-1500. My new salary payment had been 3000+.

while the motive of gate meetings and organised other meetings of Association were unknown to me. I was engage in well dress up, and wander in the market at Hajaratganj -- one thing that  was still with me was my study!

I always tried to buy costly books; actually my most of money was spent for this purpose.

Mr Shyam Singh Rathode  was General Secretary to my Association, and the president , Mr Hari Narain Singh.

I had fervour, and was yearned to do something to achieve the power of Union. Because the seniors looked to be enjoying the office bearers post of the Union.

In the year 1991, I was marrried and the earning from salary was not much enough  that would fullfill the requirement of my family.

 I had been father of a new born baby in year 1992. After this birth, I began to think the future of this new born.

The atmosphere of government press was very tight and the officers pressure over the work was very high.

Now I had well understood my destinny that I had no future except this government job.

In the begining of 1995, the power UP government had come in hand of Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, leader of Samajwadi party.

In the year 1996, government employees were preparing to go forward to fulfill their demands, so on belief of past achievement they threatened of strike to the government. Chief Minister, Mulayam Singh, was a cleverman and had been friendly advisor to Veer Bahadur Singh former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh during last strike in UP.

Because it had been in rumour during the tennure of late Veer Bahadur Singh that  he did not take any lunch unless Mulayam reached to Mr Singh's office, so Mr Mulayam's cleverness was to be tested in this forth comming strike of enployees.

The strike went on, but there were no signal to hold talk with the government; and on the other hand, the government was trying to raid the house of government employees Union leaders to nab them. In this action of government, our association's president, Mr Hari Narain Singh was jailed.

Other remedies were also used to crack the unity among the fedration's leaders.      The dice of castes and alurement of bribes were used and the strike had completed its 52 days.

One big blow came when secretariate employees union, talked with the government, without taking the confidence of confederation leaders.It was a first vertical division among the striking emplyees, which was being seen to hurt among this unity and their faiths with us.

The bikering of conspiracy emerged into split;and the strike of employees was on the verge of collapse because our real leaders had been cheated.

 One confedration had   been then divided into 5 confederations of employees service associations.

Besides these divisions, the place of gate No. 9  where all the Dharnas and demonstrations were staged  or being organised by the strikers and agrieved persons had come under scanner of government target. The government began to think it to be declared anyhow a prohibited place, but how could it do if it was a public place.

First of step by government under  policy to disposses the public interest was taken when the BSP government came in power. It acquired the places in the state capital to erect a building, statue, and parks. the  land of Darulshafa was acquired to build a hostel, so the land of public Dharna and demonstration had been shrinked, but the road was not closed here.

After the BSP government lose its power of UP in the year 2012, the Akhilesh led Samajwadi Party government took charge of UP, so it also targeted this place and planned to make a Lok Bhawan; resulting consequence was that the public interest was mere inside the state assembly, not in front of it, and the place to Dharna had been shifted to Laxman Mela Maidan. The agrieved demonstrors staged the big dharna at Laxman Maila Maidan Lucknow, and dharna for short period at Gandhi Pratima  Hajaratganj Lucknow.

 how the government could challenge to the agrieved to stop here Dharna now because all the programme had been staging under the lap of our father of nation's statue, Mhatama Ganadhi.

Akhilesh Government lost the power in UP  and the BJP formed its government, but the gauging of all parties, in my concept, look much similllarity except INC.

The government of Uttar Pradesh has banned to stage Dharna at Gandhi Pratima and Laxman Mela Maidan  by imlementing section 144 at these places; and allowed to eco-garden 5 kilometer away from the state assembly.

Mr Lalan Pandey with others have break this implemented law here on 1st of May 2018.

 Rishi Ram Bhatt

The writer is in government press and the president  government press ministerial association Lucknow