NL Correspondent
Jammu, Dec 14: Alleging large scale irregularities, omissions and commissions in the functioning of J&K Bank, a strong contingent of JKNPP led by Harsh Dev Singh JKNPP Chairman and Former Minister today held a massive protest demonstration outside the zonal office of the Bank at Rail Head Complex Jammu. The protestors accused the J&K Bank authorities of bias against Jammu region besides promoting the interests of Kashmir centric parties including PDP and NC and raised slogans seeking the appointment of a Jammu region officer as the Chairman of J&K Bank. Addressing the media persons, Harsh Dev Singh said that PDP and NC were opposing the moves for declaration of the JK Bank as PSU and its inclusion under RTI in view of its massive abuse by them for their personal and political gains. He said that by appointing their favourites as JK Bank Chairmen during their respective terms in power, they had extracted huge benefits from the Bank which needed a thorough probe through on impartial agency. Raking up the issue of aggrieved lower rung employees of the JK Bank, he disclosed that hundreds of youth from Jammu region who were appointed as banking attendants, sweepers, peons, etc. on contractual basis were obnoxiously disengaged by the bank and put on the pay rolls of M/s Sila, a private company which provided human resource to the organizations for housekeeping and maintenance of the offices. Singh said that during the past four years several thousands of backdoor appointments had been made in the various branches of J&K Bank without notifying advertisements for the posts or following the formal recruitment process. Rumours were agog that huge amount of money per candidate had exchanged hands to confer favours, Harsh rued.
Lambasting JK Bank for refusing to entertain RTI applications despite it being brought under the ambit of the Act by the orders issued by Governor recently, Harsh Dev Singh said a that on 26th November this year NPP had approached the Regional Office of the JK Bank with an RTI application which was out rightly refused and returned. Urging upon the Governor to take cognizance of the highly contemptuous act of the Bank, Singh reiterated his demand of high level probe into all the whimsical and illicit back door appointments made by the J&K Bank in the last four years on monetary and extraneous considerations.
Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion included Rajesh Padgotra, Parshotam Parihar, Surinder Chouhan, K.K Sharma, Bhavishan Singh, Nirmal Kishore, Rashpaul Singh, Udhayveer Sambyal, Rampaul Sharma, Shankaar Singh Sanju, Man Singh, Sahil Sharma, Kirti Fangotra, Raghubir Singh.
