BJP, CPI(M) attend protest for higher DA; hit out at TMC over ‘corruption’

Protesting at a bust stop near Nabanna, the Samgrami Joutha Mancha is demanding a further hike in the DA which is at par with the central government employees.

On Saturday morning, CPI(M) Md Selim reached the protest venue and expressed his solidarity with the protesting government employees. Targeting the Trinamool Congress-led state government over corruption, Selim said, “I fully support your demands. You have started a movement. This government is busy with corruption and smuggling coal, cattle and sand. They treat government employees as servants.”

Later, BJP MP Dilip Ghosh also reached the spot and participated in the protest.

Talking about the year-long protest by state government employees for a DA hike at Dharmatala in Kolkata, he said, “Your place might have changed but your will power hasn’t. This is your right (DA hike) and you should snatch it.”

Referring to the TMC government’s announcement of a 4 per cent DA hike, he said, “The state government employees are rightfully demanding a further hike in DA, announcing that the 4 per cent increase is not acceptable.”

Accusing the state administration of not giving permission to agitations and protests, Ghosh claimed that one has to move the high court for permission to hold any such programme. “If one has to move the high court for everything, then you (the Mamata Banerjee government) should resign,” he said.

The BJP leader said people voted the TMC to power hoping that it would give good governance. “You have to respect the public, listen to their grievances and try to solve them, but you do not want to pay any heed to them,” he said.

The Samgrami Joutha Mancha had moved the Calcutta High Court to seek permission for their protest, after the police denied their request. A single bench of Justice Rajashekhar Mantha on Thursday permitted the organsiation to hold a demonstration near Nabanna till 4pm on Saturday.

The state Government had moved the division bench of Calcutta High Court Chief Justice to challenging the single bench order. However, the division bench also upheld the earlier order.

Organisation convenor Bhaskar Ghosh claimed even after a hike of four per cent DA, there would still be a 36 percentage-point difference between the DA of state government and central government employees. He announced that the organisation will hold a rally on January 19 to press for a further hike in DA.