What was to be the day of talks between Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and protesting government employees turned into a high political drama in Jalandhar as the Maha Hartal call by employees’ unions spiralled into a street standoff with police, hours after CM Mann pulled out of scheduled talks with union representatives.Morning: Mass leave, mass gatheringThe stalemate began building since morning, as government employees across departments proceeded on mass casual leave and converged at the Deputy Commissioner’s office complex in Jalandhar. The protest was called over long-pending Dearness Allowance (DA) instalments and the unions’ persistent demand for restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS).A 16-member representative committee of the protesting unions was deputed to hold talks with CM Bhagwant Mann, who was scheduled to be present at PAP Chowk. The rest of the employees stayed put at the DC office, awaiting the outcome.Early afternoon: The CM’s post changes everythingTalks were expected to begin around 1 pm. But just before that, CM Mann put out a post stating that a strike and talks could not proceed simultaneously — effectively conditioning any dialogue on the unions calling off their hartal first.The statement landed as a provocation on the ground. Union leaders, who had already mobilised thousands of employees, saw it as a last-minute goalpost shift and a rejection of the scheduled meeting.Anger boils over: Call to block BMC chowkReacting sharply, Navpreet Singh, President of the Government Teachers’ Employees Union, announced that employees would block BMC Chowk indefinitely until the Chief Minister granted their representatives a hearing.The announcement triggered an immediate mobilisation. Employees inside the DC office complex began raising anti-government slogans and moved to march out onto the streets.Chaos at DC Office: Police barricade, employees scale wallsAs protesters attempted to exit, police moved swiftly to seal the main gates of the DC office, parking police buses and anti-riot vehicles to physically block the route. Given the scale of the mobilisation, the local city police was reinforced with special anti-riot units.Undeterred, the employees scaled the boundary walls of the complex and used alternate gates to break out of the cordon. However, their march was intercepted barely 50 metres from the DC office, where police once again managed to halt their advance.As the situation on the ground escalated, CM Bhagwant Mann was quietly moved from PAP Chowk to his residence in Old Baradari, avoiding any direct confrontation with the agitating employees.The stand-offThe massive build-up on the road lasted for just half an hour. Since the phones of the union leaders led by Gurnam Singh Virk, convener of Joint Action Committee, who were giving directions to the employees were confiscated. Owing to no communication and a larger presence of women employees, the protest ended abruptly in the end. Deputy Commissioner of Police Manpreet Dhillon announced that the CM had told employees that the talks had been deferred to next week.