The return of an elected government has emboldened Jammu and Kashmir’s employees to take up the cudgels for their colleagues who were terminated during the past five years for alleged links to militancy.

The administration led by lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha had allegedly terminated the employees without inquiry and the employees’ unions had seldom taken up the cause of such staff for fear of being hounded. The terminated employees, too, have been unwilling to speak up.

The Employees Joint Consultative Committee (EJCC) — the biggest employees’ body in Jammu and Kashmir — has now found its voice back, calling the terminations “unilateral” and urging the Omar Abdullah-led government to review their cases.

A sacked employee said all major political parties, including the National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party, had in their election manifestos vowed to review their cases.

Baramulla MP Sheikh Abdul Rashid recently said he had taken up the issue with the LG’s administration duringa meeting.

In a media conference on Wednesday, EJCC chairman Aijaz Ahmad Khan said they would submit a memorandum to Omar to raise all “genuine” demands of the employees, among which reviewing the cases of terminated employees would be the priority.

“Our priority is that employees who faced the axe were terminated unilaterally and were given no opportunity to defend themselves. We urge chief minister Omar Abdullah sahab to give them an opportunity to defend themselves,” Khan said.

He said the union did not support anti-nationals. “But we know that a lot of them (employees) are innocent,” he said.

The terminated employees include university professors, teachers and policemen.

The EJCC chairman said his organisation represented 4.5 lakh government employees.

Over the past five years, the government’s clampdown on dissent has dealt a blow to activism by students and employees in Jammu and Kashmir and their organisations have existed mostly in name.

The government had been invoking sub-clause (c) of the proviso to clause (2) of Article 311 of the Constitution that empowers it to terminate the services of employees in the interest of national security without holding a formal inquiry.

The EJCC also demanded the regularisation of temporary employees working in government departments.

The employees’ body thanked the Centre, the Election Commission of India, the LG and other officers for conducting “free and fair Assembly elections”.

Khan condemned the October 20 militant attack in Ganderbal’s Gagangir which killed seven people and urged the government to grant an ex gratia of ₹10 lakh each to the families of the victims.