New Delhi: Amid protests over enhancing the dearness allowance of the state government employees on par with that of the Central government, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said that her government will not be able to pay any more DA to its employees even if the protestors “behead” her.
“How much do you want? How much will satisfy you?” Banerjee said while speaking at the extended budget session in the Assembly on Monday.
“Please chop off my head and then hopefully you will be satisfied … If you do not like me, chop off my head. But you will not get any more from me,” she added.
Citing the difference in the salary structures of the central and West Bengal governments, Bengal CM claimed that the TMC government is already giving its employees DA of 105 per cent.
She further stated that DA is not given by the governments of BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Tripura and pension to retired state government employees is given only in West Bengal.
Several organizations of state government employees, including the Sangrami Joutha Mancha (united platform for struggle), are agitating for raising the DA on par with the central government employees.
The Banerjee-led government raised DA for its employees by three per cent in this year’s budget. It also issued a notification for DA grant to employees, pensioners and family pensioners at the rate of six per cent of their basic pay with effect from March 1, 2023, following the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission.
Alleging financial deprivation by the Centre, she said, “The state government is giving as much as possible. Paying DA is not mandatory. The scales of pay of central and state government employees are different. State government employees get more leaves. It will not work to get more leaves and demand more DA”.
“Does the state have a Reserve Bank? We are yet to get Rs one lakh crore from the Centre. Money will not fall from the sky. I have given government employees the opportunity to go to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand,” she added.
No objection certificates are mandatory for government servants who apply for leave to go abroad on a private visit. Prior permission from the competent authority for such a visit is also required.
The West Bengal government in 2015 allowed benefits under the LTC scheme to the state government employees once in ten years to visit neighboring countries.
Last week, agitating government employees held a 48-hour ‘pens down’ in this connection ignoring warnings of action against them.
(With inputs from PTI)