Assam chief secy remarks 'no vaccine no salary' draws flak

After chief secretary Jishnu Baruah had recently directed head of all departments to check the vaccination status of the employees before releasing their salaries from this month, government employees across the state reacted angrily saying how can the chief secretary issue an order like this, which is a clear violation of Supreme Court orders.

Guwahati: Assam Chief Secretary Jishnu Baruah has drawn the ire of citizens, particularly from the government employees after he had recently directed the head of all departments to check the vaccination status of the employees before releasing their salaries starting from this month. The order of the state chief secretary came in contrast to the earlier orders passed by the Supreme Court, Delhi and Kerala high courts wherein, it was stated clearly that vaccination is voluntary and cannot be forced upon.

Despite the court rulings, the order of the Assam chief secretary indicated that the salary of the employees who had not taken the jab will not be released. "How can the Chief Secretary issue an order like this. This is a clear violation of the orders issued by the courts recently," said members of employees organization in the state.

The order issued by the Apex Court last month clearly stated: "In addition to personal autonomy, other facets of human dignity, namely 'self-expression' and 'right to determine' also support the argument that, it is the choice of the patient to receive or not to receive the treatment."

"Vaccination for COVID-19 is voluntary. However, it is advisable to receive the complete schedule of COVID-19 vaccine for protecting oneself against this disease and also to limit the spread of this disease to close contacts including family members, friends, relatives and co-workers," the Union Health Ministry had also clarified during the first wave of COVID.