Chandigarh: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and BJP on Monday welcomed the Punjab and Haryana high court’s directive to the AAP-led Punjab govt to release pending dearness allowance (DA) instalments to employees and pensioners within 15 days.The opposition parties accused the AAP of neglecting govt staff and reaffirmed their support for employees’ welfare.SAD functionary and former minister Bikram Singh Majithia, while addressing a news conference here, sought support of govt employees for the party, which, he said, “worked tirelessly for their welfare.”Majithia said, “The AAP govt’s anti-employee attitude was exposed in court. It did its best to deny DA benefits to state employees, even constituting a three-member committee comprising ministers Harpal Cheema, Aman Arora and Baljit Kaur. The panel recommended that there was no need to grant additional DA benefits, claiming that Punjab employees’ benefits were at par with, or even better than, those of central govt employees. Citing the state’s economic crisis, the govt argued that it was not bound to follow the Centre’s DA revisions.”“Guru Dokhi (anti-Guru) chief minister Bhagwant Mann claims the state economy is doing well but govt is saying the opposite in court,” he added.Casting aspersions on govt’s intention of clearing the DA dues within 15 days even after the court directions, Majithia said govt had approached the court “today morning itself to allow the payment to be done in instalments.”Another SAD functionary N K Sharma, who also addressed the news conference, claimed that all Pay Commissions including the third, fourth and fifth, had been implemented by erstwhile SAD govts. He said former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal had “also created a record by hiking the DA by 125%.”Appealing to the employees to “decide whom they should support in the next Vidhan Sabha elections on merit”, Sharma said “the SAD is the lone party which has stood by you. Even the erstwhile Congress govt reduced your allowances.” He also announced that the SAD was committed to restoration of the Old Pension Scheme.Meanwhile, Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon described the high court’s directions as “a strong rebuff to AAP govt.”Slamming govt for “double standards”, Dhillon said, “Before the Punjab assembly elections, Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann made grand promises to govt employees. However, the same govt is now suppressing the rights of those very employees who welcomed him by showering flowers at Punjab and Haryana Civil Secretariat.”Dhillon said, “Every employee in Punjab now acknowledges that the BJP-led central govt has adopted far more employee-friendly policies. While the central govt is providing 60% DA to its employees, AAP govt in Punjab is reluctant to even provide 42% DA. These figures expose the wide gap between the AAP’s political claims and the ground reality.”Claiming that the BJP “always stood firmly for the welfare and rights of employees” and the central govt “consistently prioritised their interests”, Dhillon appealed to employees across Punjab to “recognise the reality behind the AAP’s false guarantees and support the BJP so that employees’ rights can be protected.”
