Former Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar has strongly criticized the Punjab Government's recent Dearness Allowance (DA) announcement, calling it a "publicity exercise" that will do little to help the employees it claims to support.
Jakhar questioned the logic behind the announcement, pointing out a critical flaw: newly recruited employees are not entitled to DA for the first three years of their service. This means many of the very people the government says it wants to help may not actually receive the benefit.
Jakhar's Key Question on Punjab DA Beneficiaries
The former BJP leader took direct aim at Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's announcement, asking who exactly stands to gain from this move. According to the original story, Jakhar said, "If newly recruited employees are not being given DA for three years, then who exactly is going to benefit from this announcement?"
The government's plan would raise DA from 42 per cent to 60 per cent for around 85,000 employees recruited after July 17, 2020. However, this leaves around 3.15 lakh employees who were recruited earlier still waiting for any relief.
Government's DA Move Leaves Older Employees Waiting
The core of Jakhar's criticism centers on the uneven application of this benefit. While the government highlights the increase for newer employees, a much larger group of roughly 3.15 lakh workers remains excluded from this particular announcement.
Jakhar condemned what he described as attempts to create divisions among the state's employees. In his view, singling out one group for a benefit while ignoring a larger, older group of workers is not a fair or effective policy.
"If newly recruited employees are not being given DA for three years, then who exactly is going to benefit from this announcement?" — Sunil Jakhar
Our Take: A Policy Announcement That Raises More Questions Than Answers
To put it plainly, Jakhar has identified a real gap in this announcement. If the government is raising DA for employees who are not yet eligible to receive it, the practical impact of this move is unclear.
The numbers tell a concerning story. The announcement covers 85,000 employees, but the eligibility rules mean many of them will not see this money for years. Meanwhile, the 3.15 lakh employees who were recruited earlier and might actually be eligible for immediate relief are left out of this specific announcement.
This raises a fair question for the public: is this a genuine effort to support workers, or is it an announcement designed more for headlines than for real change? When a policy's stated beneficiaries cannot actually receive the benefit, it is reasonable to ask what the real purpose of the announcement is. The people of Punjab deserve clarity on how many employees will actually see this DA increase in their paychecks — and when.
