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BJP denies opposing pay commission

Last updated on: July 21, 2006 12:52 IST

Arun Jaitley, spokesman for the Bhartiya Janata Party, has challenged Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi's claim that two BJP ruled states namely Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh were against setting up the 6th Pay Panel for government employees.

"I have spoken to the chief ministers of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and they have told me that they are not against the Pay panel," he said.

According to Jaitley Gujarat and MP had told the government that their financial position was not very good and hence they cannot take the burden of the pay panel but if the central government was ready to share fifty per cent of the liability then they have no objection.

He also challenged Dasmunshi to make public all the responses sent in by Congress-ruled states. "We demand the parliamentary affairs minister make public all responses by the states ruled by the Congress, since many of these states too have expressed apprehensions about the financial implications of the commission," he said. "If he does not, then he has to admit that what he said was inaccurate," he added.

Jaitley said that the government of India should have convened the meeting of the national developmental council to discuss this issue.

Sixth Pay Commission may derail economy

Additional inputs from Business Standard

Onkar Singh in New Delhi