Chandigarh, August 30: The Punjab government, led by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), has issued show-cause notices to nearly 300,000 employees who participated in a one-day strike this week demanding the release of a dearness allowance. In response, Amarinder Singh Raja Wadding, the state Congress president, warned Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann against taking any punitive action against the employees. He cautioned that it could be Mann’s last day in office as Chief Minister.
In a related development, the employees’ union, Sanjha Mulazam Manch, contacted Governor Gulab Chand Kataria, urging action against the Chief Minister for not attending a scheduled meeting with them on the strike day, August 27. They have demanded a deduction from Mann’s salary for his absence on that day.
Wadding stated to the media that as long as the employees are protesting legally, it is their democratic right. He emphasized that AAP cannot intimidate them through threats of action. He challenged the Chief Minister to exercise his authority against the employees, asserting that there would be far-reaching consequences that Mann could not even imagine.
Meanwhile, in a memorandum submitted to the Governor, the employees’ union accused Chief Minister Mann of “negligence towards government responsibilities, administrative arbitrariness, and waste of public funds.” They argued that if rules and discipline apply to lower-level employees, those in higher positions should not be exempt.
On August 27, government services across Punjab were significantly disrupted, with over 300,000 employees from various departments, boards, and corporations participating in the strike. Nearly 400,000 pensioners also joined them.
The impact of the “Maha Strike” was felt in government hospitals, pharmacies, and educational institutions. However, markets, private establishments, and public transport services were exempt from the shutdown, as were emergency services.
According to employee unions, they are owed ₹20,161 crore in dearness allowance, with ₹6,000 crore pending since 2021 and ₹14,161 crore from before that year, when the AAP government came to power in Punjab. Employees currently receive a dearness allowance of 42% of their basic salary, while they claim it should be 58%.
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