Experts suggest humane approach, change in rules

LUCKNOW: To break the stalemate over compensation to teachers who lost their lives during the Uttar Pradesh panchayat polls, experts have suggested an amendment in the rules and adopting a humanitarian approach in view of the fact that the Covid-19 pandemic is rare and has claimed many lives.

Former chief election commissioner of India SY Quraishi said the state government and the State Election Commission (SEC) should go for a “liberal interpretation” in case of casualty of government staff deployed on election duty especially when the country is facing the pandemic.

“One should go for more liberal interpretation of government staff dying during election duty. Humanitarian and a little liberal point of view could be considered in these special circumstances in assessing the loss of life,” said Quraishi.

To a question about UP panchyat elections, he said, “The least we can do is to sympathise with the kin of teachers who lost their own on poll duty. Government staff anyway was doing poll duty and had not gone out for a picnic.”

The state government has said three teachers died on poll duty, contradicting the claim of the Uttar Pradeshiya Prathamik Shikshak Sangh that said more than 1621 government school staff died after contracting the Covid-19 infection on poll duty.

Asked if an amendment was possible in light of Covid-19, state election commissioner Manoj Kumar said, “Yes, opinion can be taken, but I cannot answer the question off-hand like that. We follow the state government orders. For this, we have to take the opinion of others.”

A former official with the state election commission said, “One should consider the death of government staff on a case-bycase basis.”

Asked if an amendment was possible for better ex gratia, minister of state for basic education (independent charge) Satish Chand Dwivedi said, “Being part of the state government, I cannot answer this. Representatives of teachers’ associations and other experts may answer this better.”

Shiv Kant Pathak, a teacher whose wife Priya Shukla (also a teacher in Hardoi district) was fatally injured in a road accident when returning from election duty, said, “I have two small children. The government will not give a penny in compensation. Why should a teacher take part in election duty?”