Kolkata: Leader of the opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP on Saturday asserted that the difference in DA between the employees of the Centre and the state government now stands at 36 per cent, following a decision by the Union Cabinet.

A sit-in demonstration by a section of West Bengal government employees demanding a hike in DA entered the 58th day on Saturday.
Adhikari’s statement came a day after the Union Cabinet increased the dearness allowance and dearness relief by four per cent to 42 per cent to benefit 47.58 lakh central government employees and 69.76 lakh pensioners.
“This is the charisma of Hon’ble PM Shri @narendramodi Ji. Disparity in pay between WB Govt & Central Govt employees widens,” the Nandigram MLA tweeted. Attaching an image with the tweet, the BJP leader stated that the Centre now pays 42 per cent DA, while the state government gives six per cent, of which three per cent was “hiked through chit”. Thus the difference is 36 per cent, he claimed.

When Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya was at the end of tabling the state budget last month, a chit was given to her, and she announced a three per cent DA. The opposition BJP had alleged that she violated norms as it was not mentioned in the budget document.
Adhikari also attached the image of a table giving details of “DA paid by other states”.
A spokesperson of the Steering Committee of the agitating state employees said they will intensify the demand for bridging the DA gap between central and state government staff.

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Around 50 state employees are now demonstrating at the Sahid Minar maidan here. A forum of 18 state government employees’ organisations had also observed a strike on March 10 demanding a hike in DA.
Spokesperson of the ruling Trinamool Congress Kunal Ghosh said the West Bengal government can increase the DA if the Centre releases the Rs 1.18 lakh crore which is due to the state.
“The Centre is not releasing the funds which are due and it is hitting the state hard. The Centre is doing this for political reasons. We are requesting the agitating employees to withdraw their agitation and understand the situation faced by the state,” he added.

Source: PTI