STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: Over 27,000 Home Guards staged ceasework at different parts of the State on Monday demanding regularization of their jobs. In Guwahati, the protest was staged at Dighalipukhuri.
"We were threatened by the Assam Police Department to stop our protest or else we will be put behind bars and lose our jobs," said All Assam Trained Home Guard Association secretary Ikram Ali.
"Every time we stage protest over this issue, the government says that they will address our issues within a week. However, that particular week has not yet come in the last five years of the BJP-led government. In the name of development, the BJP has pushed us into darkness," Ali asserted.
The Home Guards appealed to the Governor to accept the Supreme Court's order to provide equal pay for equal work.
They stressed that they are being deprived of basic facilities despite serving overtime in their duties.
They also threatened that around 27,000 families of Home Guards will not cast their votes in the forthcoming polls if their demands are not addressed.
Ali also appealed to all the Home Guards of the State to boycott their election duties as a mark of protest.