'Are you people mazdoor?' Tripura CM Biplab Kumar Deb justifies dropping May Day from holidays list

AGARTALA: Justifying dropping May Day from the list of holidays in Tripura, state chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb claimed that people not employed in the industrial sector need the holiday.

“Are you people labourers (mazdoor)? No. Am I a labourer? No. I am Chief Minister. You view files in secretariat and do not work in industrial sector. So, why do you need a holiday,” questioned Deb at a conference of the Tripura Gazetted Officers Sangh on Sunday.

The Tripura government in a notification on November 3 had said that government employees would be allowed to avail any four holidays chosen by them out of a list of restricted holidays during 2019.

Further explaining, Deb said, “Let me talk about May Day (Labour Day). There are only a few states in the country that observe holiday on that day. Why do government employees need holiday on May Day? May Day is for labourers so the government has given holiday in industrial sector.”

Tripura state has 12 festivals or occasions in the list of restricted holidays. These are New Years Day, Pous Parban - a Bengali harvest festival, Basanti Puja, Mahavir Jayanti, May Day, Ratha Yatra, Jhulanjatra Samapan, Biswakarma Puja, Akheri-Chahar-Sumba, Bhratridwitiya, Guru Nanak's birthday and the World Disabled Day.

With agency inputs