Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Tuesday said that the food ministry’s memorandum warning bureaucrats that they will be sacked for being absent from the workplace during the coronavirus outbreak will be withdrawn, NDTV reported. This came amid a nationwide lockdown to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday extended the lockdown, which began on March 25, till May 3.
The memorandum, titled “unwillingness/continuation of services”, asked officials not coming to work in the Department of Consumer Affairs to inform the ministry by April 20 of their unwillingness to continue, so that they can be “relieved”.
Union Minister of Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan said he was not aware of such a notice. “This matter has just come to my knowledge,” he told NDTV. “It is not correct to relieve people of duty. I have told the secretary in the ministry to withdraw this order. Everyone has to follow the same guidelines as issued by the central government. We cannot have our own order on employees.”
The letter, which NDTV accessed, read: “The undersigned is directed to say that all the officers and officials who are unwilling to continue in this department may intimate the same to establishment section by 20th of April 2020 so that necessary action may be taken for relieving them,” Ram Vilas Paswan is the minister in charge of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
The news network said it was not clear whether other ministries have issued similar memorandums.
An unidentified Department of Consumer Affairs official said that a written order had been issued on March 25, the first day of the lockdown, that a decision had been taken to close down government offices. However, the reopening of the offices was conveyed via a phone call, and there was nothing in writing, the officer said.
The prime minister had held a video conference with chief ministers on April 11, following which the Centre asked ministers to resume working from office, using precautions like a face mask and social distancing.
Modi said earlier on Tuesday that the extended lockdown will be strictly enforced till April 20, following which restrictions may be relaxed in the least-affected parts of the country.
India has so far reported 10,815 coronavirus cases and 353 deaths.
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