BJP protests delay in DA payment to government staff, stages walkout from Himachal Assembly

BJP legislators staged a protest during the ongoing monsoon session of the Assembly here today over the delay in the payment of pending 11 per cent Dearness Allowances (DA) to government employees.

Una MLA Satpal Singh Satti raised the issue during the Question Hour in the Vidhan Sabha. He said that Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had made an announcement in his Budget speech that DA would be given to the employees soon but it was still pending. Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur and Jaswan MLA Bikram Singh accused the Chief Minister of misleading the House and not honouring his commitment on the payment of DA made during the Budget speech.

Speaker Kuldeep Pathania tried to pacify the Opposition but the BJP legislators started raising slogans and later walked out of the House amidst pandemonium.

Thakur said that the Congress had come to power with the support of the employees and so the state government should pay the pending 11 per cent DA to them. “The Congress had portrayed itself as the protector of the interests of employees to come to power. Now, it is blaming our government though the Congress has been in power for more than two and a half years,” he added.

The Chief Minister said that the state government had lost out on Rs 4,800 crore from the Central Government in the past three years for having implemented the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for the employees. “During my meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, I was told if Himachal opted for the New Pension Scheme (NPS) or the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), the state government could get this amount at the rate of Rs 1,600 crore per annum,” he claimed.

Sukhu said that the Congress government had given pending arrears of Rs 10,000 crore along with DA to the employees, which the previous BJP regime did not pay. He added that his government had paid two installments of 3 per cent and 4 per cent DA and the arrears of Rs 10,000 crore due on account of the Sixth Pay Commission, which had been pending from the time of the previous BJP government.

The Chief Minister said, “The state had got Rs 11,000 crore Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG) six months before the Assembly elections but the previous BJP government did not pay pending dues to the employees.” He added, “The RDG has now come down to meagre Rs 3,200 crore every year. The DA will be given to the employees when the economic health of the state improves. I have made a provision for DA in the 2024-25 Budget but considering the financial situation of the state government, it has been delayed.”

Sukhu, while talking to mediapersons later, said that Rs 9,000 crore of the New Pension Scheme (NPS) was still lying with the Central Government. “The previous BJP government did not implement the OPS and pay arrears to the employees. Now, the Central Government is stalling additional borrowing to the tune of Rs 1,600 crore to Himachal because the government has implemented the OPS,” he added.