The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday, 31 August mounted a sharp offensive against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government, accusing it of hypocrisy and broken promises after the state reportedly issued show-cause notices to government employees who participated in a statewide strike on 27 August. The BJP's attack came as over three lakh Punjab government employees and 3.50 lakh pensioners threatened to escalate their agitation over long-pending demands.

What the Striking Employees Are Demanding

The protesting employees — drawn from more than 150 bodies under the Punjab Sanjha Mulazam Manch — have been pressing the Bhagwant Mann-led state government on several fronts. Their core demands include the release of a pending 18 per cent dearness allowance (DA), implementation of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), and regularisation of contractual staff. Additional demands cover minimum wages for mid-day meal, ASHA, and Anganwadi workers, restoration of the ACP scheme, and extension of Punjab pay scales to employees recruited after 17 July 2020.

Employee leaders have alleged that despite repeated assurances from the state government, no concrete action has followed — and that the government has failed to release 18 per cent DA instalments and arrears even after directions from the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

BJP's Attack: 'Double Standards' and Broken Promises

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, party spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia accused the AAP government of turning against the very tool — mass protest — that propelled it to power.

'Three lakh government employees, including contractual employees, are on a major strike across 23 districts in Punjab. Alongside them, 350,000 pensioners are also supporting them and raising their demands. What are the demands? Promises were made that regularisation would happen, but it did not happen. The Dearness Allowance is still pending and is not being paid. Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann said they would introduce the Old Pension Scheme, but today, look at the situation: no blueprint has been prepared for the Old Pension Scheme either,' Bhatia said.

Bhatia also displayed what he described as a notice issued by the Punjab government on 29 August, which, according to him, directed departments to prepare lists of striking employees and initiate action against them. 'So, won't questions be raised? You made promises — that you would provide Dearness Allowance, you said jobs would be regularised, you said OPS would be implemented in Punjab. And when all these issues remain unfulfilled due to your failure, you say: first, make a list of them and take action against them,' he said.

The AAP Government's Position

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has reportedly stated that he would not hold any discussions until the protest ends, according to Bhatia's account at the press conference. The state government has not publicly detailed its response to the show-cause notices or the employees' escalation plan as of the time of reporting.

Escalating Agitation: What Comes Next

The employee organisations have announced a phased escalation if their demands are not met. Planned actions include a mass leave on 8 September if show-cause notices are not withdrawn, gheraoing the native residences of AAP ministers and MLAs, forming a human chain across the state, organising an Employees' Assembly on 30 September, and holding a Maha Rally in Sangrur on 10 October. A further two-day mass casual leave is planned for 21 and 22 October if the government fails to act on their demands.

This comes amid the broader political backdrop of Punjab heading toward its next electoral cycle, with the BJP framing the employee unrest as evidence of AAP's governance failures. Whether the Mann government moves to negotiate or holds its current position will likely shape the trajectory of public services in the state over the coming weeks.