Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], August 28 (ANI): The Punjab State Secretariat in Chandigarh witnessed a complete shutdown on Thursday as government employees staged a mass leave to protest against the state government, demanding the payment of long-overdue Dearness Allowance (DA).
The protest has sparked a political standoff, with the opposition Congress slamming Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's "autocratic" approach, while the CM maintained that dialogue will only resume once the strike is called off.
Kulwant Singh, President of the Punjab Civil Secretariat (FCR office), stated that the employees are firm in their resolve. "All staffers are on mass leave today. A meeting with the CM is scheduled for today, and a team from Jalandhar has gone for the meeting. Punjab Govt changed the venue of the meeting suddenly because they are scared that if the meeting is held, employees will gather together," Singh said.
Expressing hope for a resolution while issuing a warning, he added, "So, our teams have gone there. We are confident that our demands will be heard and a solution will come out... If our demands are turned down, Bhagwant Mann will face a difficult time in the days to come."
The protest received strong backing from the Punjab Congress.
A government’s strength is measured by how it treats those who serve the people, not by how forcefully it tries to silence them.
Withholding employees’ rightful DA and then denying them the democratic right to protest is nothing but arrogance of power @BhagwantMann. Punjab’s… pic.twitter.com/S4DS81YukM
State unit president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring condemned the Chief Minister's attitude towards the striking employees and pensioners.
Reacting to reports of the government planning punitive measures, Warring said, "This only reflects the dictatorial and autocratic way of functioning of the Chief Minister and his government. If any such action is taken against the employees, it will be the beginning of the end for his government."
Warring further termed the denial of DA a "unique case" in the country. "The protest is the employees' right and more so when their demands are genuine. It must be a unique case in the entire country that a state government is not only denying payment of the DA to the employees and pensioners but is also trying to take punitive action against them when they are raising their rightful demand," he remarked.
The Congress leader urged the CM to start negotiations, stating, "They are not your enemies, but the same people who elected your government and worked shoulder to shoulder with you all these years. Or does Mann now believe that the days of his government are numbered; hence there is no point paying them their rightful due?"
Earlier, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann addressed the situation on X, emphasising that the government is open to talks but not under the pressure of a strike.
"Employees are an important part of our family, and we are ready to listen to every legitimate concern of theirs... But dialogue and strikes cannot proceed together... The government is committed to resolving every issue, but dialogue will only take place once the strike is called off," the CM's post read. (ANI)
