Punjab State Karmchari Dal flays government

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, April 7

The Punjab State Karmchari Dal held a meeting under the Public Works Department office at the Chugitti Bypass in Jalandhar on Saturday. Dal state president Hari Singh Tohr, said the state government had not spared a single thought for the employees of the state in the Budget.

He said employees had been burdened with another tax. On the top of it the prices of petrol and diesel had increased. Similarly, taxes had also been levied on many articles, which had burdened the employees of the state.

Condemning the lathi charge on teachers and anagnwari workers in the state recently, the members of the Dal said the present government had come to power with the promise that the demands of the employees should be addressed without any rallies or protest.

They said, on the other hand, the government was now cracking down on teachers who were holding peaceful protests in the state.

They said the 18 states of the country had implemented the reports of the Pay Commission’s reports while Punjab had maintained studied silence on the issue. They said the previous DA instalments had also not been cleared by the state government. The Regularisation Bill passed by the previous government, to regularise daily wagers, work charge employees and contractual employees in various departments, had also not been acted upon by the incumbent government, they added.

They said rather the employees were being rendered surplus as per government policies in various departments.

Activists also condemned the non-payment of dues under the cashless health insurance schemes, pending for a long time.