The issue of Punjab employees agitating against the state government on service matters has taken an absolutely new turn, with the Punjab Government approaching the Supreme Court against the Punjab and Haryana High Court order on Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR).The government has assured the court that it was willing to provide salaries comparable with those of Central Government employees in terms of actual pay. The state had to file a Special Leave Petition (SLP) with the Supreme Court against the Punjab and Haryana High Court decision, as clearing arrears of around Rs 14,191 crore for the employees in a short span of time was “constitutionally” impossible.The protesting employees’ voice started getting stronger after Prime Minister Narendra Modi supported the demands of the Punjab state employees while addressing a huge public gathering in Jalandhar on July 17.Besides the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal and Akali Dal (Punar Surjit) are backing the demands of the employees. The voice is getting more visible with certain farmer organisations, including Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Ekta Ugrahan and the All-India State Government Employees Federation, joining the bandwagon of supporters.The Punjab Government has contended that its rules did not mandate payment of DA at the rate fixed by the Centre for its employees. The Punjab Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 2021, prescribe no specific index, formula, rate or interval for DA and leave the matter to the state government’s discretion.At the same time, Punjab Government Employees Union leader and convener of the Sanjha Mulazim Manch Sukhchain Khaira said, “PM putting in words of support for our long pending genuine demands means a lot to us. Now with each passing day more groups are joining us and our movement is getting bigger.“This is despite the fact that the government has shown us its back and even threatened us with dire consequences. I have been transferred out from my place of posting as a punishment. We will not bend and will fight till our demands are met”.He mentioned the impact of the employee agitation on July 17, when office work in the state was virtually jammed. Buoyed by the response from different political parties and other organisations, employees will once again proceed on a mass casual leave on September 8.The situation was earlier thought to be moving towards a possible solution after CM Bhagwant Mann had agreed to meet representatives of government employees on August 27. Things went out of hand after employees did not withdraw from the agitation. CM Mann said that discussions could take place only after the statewide strike (“Maha Hartal”) was called off.Core employee demandsRelease of the pending 18 per cent Dearness Allowance (DA) and accumulated arrears from the time of COVID-19 onwardsFull implementation of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) as originally promised by the state governmentWithdrawal of orders enforcing the probation period of three years before job regularisation and full service benefits from day one of joiningRestoration of the Assured Career Progression (ACP) schemeWithdrawal of punitive show-cause notices against agitating staffVoice of SupportPrime Minister Narendra Modi: “Centre and Haryana government employees are getting Dearness Allowance at enhanced rates while Punjab employees are not even getting the DA at the existing rates. Employees are forced to sit on dharna for their rights”.Senior Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa: “When a State Government takes its own employees to court instead of paying their legitimate dues, it raises a fundamental question: does the Government genuinely dispute their entitlement, or is litigation being used to postpone payments because the State’s finances are under severe strain?”Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring: “Why did the AAP government issue notification regarding the old pension scheme (OPS) if it had no intention of implementing it?”SAD president Sukhbir Badal: “We extend full support to the genuine demands of the protesting Punjab government employees. All should unite under the SAD banner and we will fight till the government concedes to your demands.”