Chandigarh, November 3
Former Punjab BJP president Shwait Malik today launched a scathing attack on the Aam Aadmi Party government after the Punjab and Haryana High Court issued a contempt notice to Chief Secretary K.A.P. Sinha over non-payment of Dearness Allowance (DA) arrears to government employees and pensioners.
Terming the court’s stricture a severe indictment of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s governance, Malik said that despite previous fines of ₹1 lakh and repeated rebukes from the High Court, the ruling dispensation continues to brazenly evade its statutory obligations.
“It is shameful that Punjab’s administrative machinery has been forced into court with contempt notices simply because the Mann government stubbornly refuses to release the legitimate earnings of over six lakh employees and pensioners,” Shwait Malik remarked. He added, “While AAP splurges hundreds of crores of public money on deceptive nationwide advertisements and luxury chartered flights, the hard-working workforce that runs this state is left begging for their lawful dues.”
Malik pointed out that while the state government acknowledged liabilities exceeding ₹22,800 crore, it is desperately seeking technical pretexts and threatening appeals rather than clearing arrears with 6% interest as directed by the court. “The BJP stands firmly with Punjab’s government employees and pensioners,” Malik asserted, demanding that the Mann regime discard its confrontational stance, comply unconditionally with the High Court’s 10-day directive, and release the pending DA installments without further delay.
