Punjab employees burn Mann effigy, escalate fight over DA, talks

Punjab government employees on Friday, 28 August burnt an effigy of chief minister Bhagwant Mann and raised slogans against him in Hoshiarpur, escalating their protest over pending dearness allowance (DA) and the government’s refusal to hold talks without calling off the strike.

The protest was organised outside the civil surgeon’s office by the Joint Coordination Committee, formed by the Punjab Employees and Pensioners Joint Front and the Sanjha Mulazim Manch, Punjab.

The protesting employees also burnt copies of a government letter issued over the mass casual leave observed on 27 August, along with copies of a post on X by Mann on Thursday in which he said a meeting and a continuing protest could not take place simultaneously.

Addressing the protesters, union leaders accused Mann of an “arrogant” and “indifferent” attitude towards employees and demanded immediate implementation of the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s decision on payment of DA.

They also called for the government to address other demands listed in their memorandum.

The leaders thanked employees for the large turnout during Friday’s protest and the mass casual leave on 27 August.

The agitation follows Thursday’s statewide strike, which affected work in several government departments and led to the suspension of OPD services at public hospitals across Punjab. More than three lakh government employees participated in the strike, pressing for the release of pending DA and other demands.

A scheduled meeting between Mann and representatives of employee organisations in Jalandhar was cancelled after the chief minister made it clear that talks would take place only if the employees called off their strike. The unions refused, insisting on an unconditional meeting.

More than 150 employee organisations under the banner of the Punjab Sanjha Mulazam Manch have joined the ‘maha hartal’.

With PTI inputs