Punjab CM scraps Fazilka DC dress code order which insisted dupatta mandatory for women

PTI, Jul 28, 2019, 10:44 AM IST

Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday night scrapped a dress code order issued by Fazilka deputy commissioner that required women staff of the DC office to wear ‘dupattas’ to work and banned T-shirts for men during duty hours.

On Friday, deputy commissioner Manpreet Singh’s office had issued the order. It warned the employees that disciplinary action would be taken if they violate the order.

The chief minister scrapped the order, saying imposition of a dress code in a government office did not, on the face of it, appear to be a feasible option. Other ways should be explored to ensure office decorum, he said.

Singh said the Punjab government did not have any dress code in place for its employees and hence it was not reasonable to expect staff in one district office to follow such a code. The DC had reportedly issued the order on a written request by the employees’ union, which had sought a formal dress code as they found the casual dress unkempt.

The chief minister directed the DC to forward the employees’ union request to the state government for further action, an official spokesperson said. Any decision on the matter would be taken after due consideration on all aspects of the issue, said the spokesperson.

According to the DC order, male employees would have been required, with effect from July 29, 2019, to abstain from wearing T-shirts and female employees would have been required to mandatorily wear ‘dupattas’, a long scarf worn around head or shoulders.

“It is being directed that no male employees should come to office in T-shirts, and female staff should also not come without dupattas,” the order read.

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