Official sources here today said Mr Rio was chairing the District Planning and Development Board (DPDB) meeting at Peren yesterday, where he said that the agitating employees must be willing to sit across the table and barter dialogue. He said if the government servants have any grievance they must be willing to come forward to talk and urged all concerned not to politicise anything but work together for the good of the people. He also advised against ''playing politics'' or ''sabotaging the government''.
The Chief Minister clarified the stand of the government that while in other states government, employees number less than one per cent of the population, Nagaland has six per cent of its population in the government services. He said the State Exchequer spends 60 per cent on salary and pension alone leaving only 40 per cent of the funds for the remaining 94 per cent population.
''If the privileged class - the government servants - are unwilling to serve the public, they may resign from their jobs,'' he said, adding ''such continued sabotage of the government may invite the wrath of the public against them.''