Srinagar, Sep 12 (KNS): Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) General Secretary and former MLC Mohammad Khurshid Alam on Saturday issued a sharp and unequivocal condemnation of Health Minister Sakina Itoo’s reported threat to initiate administrative action against National Health Mission (NHM) employees if they failed to call off their ongoing protest, terming the approach deeply concerning and fundamentally at odds with the principles of democratic governance.

Alam described the statement as an unfortunate manifestation of authoritarianism, injustice and conduct unbecoming of a democratically elected government. He maintained that employees raising legitimate concerns over their service conditions and livelihood cannot be treated as a problem to be silenced through administrative pressure or intimidation.

He reminded the government that it came to power on a public mandate built around promises of relief, accountability, dignity and responsive governance, rather than coercion and punitive measures.

He stressed that issuing ultimatums to frontline healthcare workers, he argued, not only undermines their legitimate right to raise their grievances but also amounts to a betrayal of the very mandate on which the government was elected.

“We are living in a democratically elected form of representation, not a dictatorship or a hegemonical government,” Alam stated, stressing that disagreement, protest and the articulation of genuine grievances are integral to a functioning democracy and should be addressed through dialogue rather than threats.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel

Alam further underscored the indispensable contribution of NHM employees to Jammu and Kashmir’s healthcare infrastructure, describing them not as adversaries of the administration but as frontline workers whose service and sacrifices deserve recognition, respect and institutional appreciation.

“These are the same workers who stood at the absolute frontline during the COVID-19 crisis, risking their lives daily while the rest of the world sheltered in place — and notably, long before the current Health Minister held office or witnessed any part of their sacrifice,” he remarked.

He said that the contribution of NHM employees during the pandemic and subsequent public-health emergencies cannot be reduced to routine government employment, as thousands of workers continued delivering essential healthcare services under extraordinarily difficult circumstances, often at considerable personal risk.

Alam added that responding to their legitimate wage and service-related demands with threats, administrative pressure or punitive action is not governance but an affront to the very people who kept Jammu and Kashmir’s healthcare system functioning through some of its darkest hours.

He urged the government to abandon any confrontational approach and instead engage with the protesting employees through meaningful dialogue, sensitivity and a spirit of democratic accommodation, asserting that the grievances of those who have served the public at the frontline must be heard with dignity rather than met with intimidation.(KNS)