"The Central Government should introduce a bill in the Parliament to convert these VDCs and SPOs into proper Security Force", former BJP President and Member National Executive Dr Nirmal Singh told reporters here today.
"The disengagement of SPOs and VDCs on flimsy grounds should be stopped forthwith and those who have been ousted should be reinstated", he said.
"Their remuneration should be enhanced from Rs 3,000 to Rs 6,000. Unpaid VDCs should be paid", Singh said adding that their service conditions should be settled through a statute.
"Able-bodied persons should be absorbed into police and those who have rendered so many years of service in VDCs and have grown old should be provided with livelihood", he said.
Reiterating the party's full support to genuine demands and resolution of long-pending grievances of SPOs and VDCs, he said, "BJP has decided to launch a struggle for their rights. In this regard, the party activists in large numbers will sit on protest at every Block Headquarters on May 14, 2012 to highlight the plight of SPOs and VDCs and a memorandum shall be submitted to Governor through the local government authority", Singh said.
There is a conspiracy on part of the state's coalition government to slowly disband the VDCs when there is no guarantee of decrease in terrorism, he said.
Singh said that SPOs have laid down their lives and their families too got eliminated in this process. "Not only that they acted as Guides to lead the security forces to terrorist hide-outs but most of them were front line actors in this war against terror", he said.
It is strange that their status is not decided as to whether they are civilians or policemen, he said adding that their duty is quite rigorous as they are deployed in militancy infested areas far away from their homes without food and shelter.
