BJP hits out at Punjab govt over employee stir, unfulfilled poll promises

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has trained its guns on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab, accusing it of turning a deaf ear to government employees and reneging on electoral commitments made in 2022.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said the unrest is widespread, with roughly three lakh employees — including contractual staff — and 3.5 lakh pensioners agitating across all 23 districts of the state. The protesters are pressing for three key demands: regularisation of services, release of pending Dearness Allowance (DA), and restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS).

Bhatia alleged that the AAP government has neither implemented regularisation nor cleared the pending DA, and has failed to put in place a concrete framework for OPS. He took particular exception to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's reported refusal to hold talks unless the strike is called off, and pointed to a government order that purportedly directs authorities to identify protesters.

Calling the approach "undemocratic", Bhatia questioned the apparent double standard — why AAP's own protests are deemed legitimate while public demonstrations are met with what he described as repression. He also condemned reported baton-charges against protesting teachers, Anganwadi workers, sanitation staff and others.

The BJP leader has demanded clarity from Mann and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on when the demands concerning DA, regularisation and OPS will be met, insisting that the ongoing deadlock must be resolved through dialogue rather than confrontation.