Amid growing support for the Punjab Government employees’ agitation from unions and federations across the country, the state government has transferred one of the protest’s prominent leaders, Sukhchain Singh Khera, from the Administration Branch in the Punjab Civil Secretariat to the Planning Branch functioning outside the Secretariat.Khera alleged that the transfer was aimed at limiting his presence in the Secretariat and weakening the ongoing agitation.”I or any other leader of the union will not succumb to government pressure to roll back the protests. I have been transferred to ensure my presence in the Secretariat is minimal,” Khera told The Tribune.The transfer comes a day after employee unions announced that Punjab Government staff would again go on mass casual leave on September 8. The announcement follows a statewide mass casual leave protest held on August 27.Khera’s transfer comes amid the government’s efforts to contain the agitation involving around 4 lakh employees and 3.5 lakh pensioners.On August 27, lakhs of employees went on mass casual leave to press the government to release pending dearness allowance (DA) instalments, fulfil its promise of restoring the Old Pension Scheme and address other service-related demands. The government subsequently directed departments to prepare lists of employees who participated in the protest and later asked officers to issue them show-cause notices for allegedly availing unauthorised leave.Meanwhile, the Punjab Government has decided to challenge in the Supreme Court the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s order directing it to release pending DA dues.Support for the employees’ agitation has also come from the All India State Government Employees Federation, which has warned that punitive action against protesting employees could trigger nationwide protests against the AAP-led Punjab Government.Federation national president Subhash Lamba condemned the state’s decision to issue notices to employees who stayed away from work as part of the agitation, terming it an attempt to intimidate employees and curb their democratic right to protest.Lamba said the federation would launch a nationwide agitation if the Punjab Government initiated disciplinary action against any employee who participated in the August 27 protest. He added that the agitation was not sudden and had followed several phases of protests and repeated notices to the government.