Vax clause in job advert flagged

SHILLONG, Sep 15: KHNAM legislator Adelbert Nongrum on Wednesday raised a question on the job vacancies advertised for the District Swachh Bharat Mission (DSBM) of East Khasi Hills where interested candidates were requested to submit their provisional COVID-19 vaccination certificate along with other certificates and documents.
Moving a resolution in the Assembly, he said the East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner cum Chairman of the DSBM had on September 1 issued the ‘conditional’ advertisement.
Nongrum asked if the COVID-19 vaccination certificate sought meant the unvaccinated cannot apply for the jobs. This, he said, was a clear case of discrimination against those yet to be vaccinated.
The KHNAM legislator also said the advertisement is an attempt to influence and indirectly force the citizens to take the vaccine.
“The advertisement is a coercive method for vaccination in contravention of the order of the Meghalaya High Court,” he said.
According to him, the Deputy Commissioner through this advertisement denied an employment opportunity to individuals who cannot provide COVID-19 vaccination certificates. “This violates Article 16 of the Constitution of India,” he said.
In his reply, Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said any interested candidate applying for vacant posts is requested to submit his or her provisional COVID-19 vaccination certificate. He said the applications of many unvaccinated people have been accepted.
Out of the 418 people who applied, 200 did not submit their COVID-19 vaccination certificates, he said.
The CM also clarified that the state government has never made COVID-19 vaccination mandatory, adding that it is only requesting people to take the two-dose jab.