Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], August 30 (ANI): Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Sunday reaffirmed his support for state government employees protesting for payment of pending dearness allowance (DA) dues and restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), saying the Congress and its workers and warriors would continue to stand with them until justice was delivered.
Addressing the fourth session of his live interaction programme, “Warring with Warriors”, Warring saluted the resolve of the employees and said their demands for the restoration of the OPS and payment of DA were “fully justified”, as they were seeking their rightful dues and not any special favour from the government.
“Those who fight, win,” Warring said, adding that the Congress would continue fighting alongside the employees until their demands were met.
Questioning the Bhagwant Mann government over the OPS, Warring asked why the government had issued a notification regarding the pension scheme if it had no intention of implementing it.
He accused Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of repeatedly going back on his commitments and described him as a “serial liar” who backed out of promises within 24 hours.
Warring said the people of Punjab were aware that the functioning of the state depended heavily on its employees and warned that “without the employees, Punjab will come to a standstill”. The DA, he said, was not a favour but a rightful requirement of government employees.
The Punjab Congress chief also praised Congress district presidents and other party workers for standing with employees during their protests. “I feel proud of my warriors standing with the employees,” he said, while asserting that the party would remain with its “employee brothers and sisters” in their struggle.
Invoking the teachings of the Tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, Warring said that when injustice and oppression crossed all limits and negotiations failed to produce results, resistance became the only option.
He congratulated the employees for refusing to “submit to the injustice and oppression” of the Mann government and accused the chief minister of attempting to intimidate employees by threatening them with punitive action.
“If you have courage, take action and take it in writing–you will lose your government six months in advance,” Warring told Mann.
He reminded the chief minister that the same employees had played an important role in bringing the Aam Aadmi Party to power in 2022.
“These are the same people who made you the Chief Minister. They made the impossible possible. Don’t forget that,” Warring said, warning Mann that unnecessary confrontation with employees could prove politically costly.
Warring also attacked the state government over its financial priorities, questioning how the government could claim that it had no money to meet employees’ demands while spending around ₹1,000 crore on advertisements.
“If you didn’t have money, why did you make promises with the people?” he asked.
He further accused the Mann government of using Punjab’s money for political activities outside the state, alleging that the government was spending on election campaigns in Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi while claiming it could not meet the financial requirements of Punjab’s employees.
Warring questioned the government’s inability to provide around ₹14,000 crore for employee-related dues and benefits, particularly when, he said, the money represented their “rightful due” rather than a concession.
Warring also criticised the government for paying ₹341 crore to consultants in connection with raising a ₹25,000-crore loan.
Comparing the arrangement to a borrower paying an intermediary to secure a loan, he said, “It is like some defaulter bribing his way through some middleman to get the loan.”
He accused the AAP government of burdening Punjab with unprecedented debt and said the state’s outstanding debt had increased from about ₹2.85 lakh crore when the AAP government assumed office in 2022 to around ₹4.48 lakh crore now.
“What sort of a Chief Minister is Mann, who was elected to change the picture of Punjab, but instead ended up destroying it?” Warring asked.
He said the government owed an explanation to the people of Punjab on its financial management and alleged that the state was being pushed deeper into debt while basic commitments remained unfulfilled.
Warring also listed several promises and projects that he alleged had not materialised under the Mann government.
He asked what had happened to the proposed BMW manufacturing plant that was announced for Punjab and questioned the status of the Malwa Canal project.
He also asked the chief minister whether his government had delivered on promises relating to new medical colleges, schools and colleges.
“You destroyed Punjab, and you have to account for everything,” Warring said.
Warring appealed to Congress workers and “warriors” to remain focused on a single political objective–removing the Mann government and bringing in a stable government in Punjab.
Recalling the difficult political circumstances of the 1992 Punjab Assembly elections, he said that at a time when people were reluctant to contest elections, and many had withdrawn from the political process, Congress workers had “bit the bullet” and fought the elections, making sacrifices to restore Punjab to the path of peace and progress.
He said the party’s workers had historically faced difficult circumstances and urged the present generation of Congress workers to display the same determination.
Warring also reserved special praise for Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, saying he had “shaken the Modi government” through his persistent political fight.
He urged Congress workers to learn from Gandhi’s example of continuing to fight despite political odds and pressure.
“Despite all odds, Rahul kept on fighting,” Warring said, asserting that people across the country were increasingly looking towards Gandhi as an alternative to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He described Rahul Gandhi as the “new hope of India” as well as the “new hope for Punjab”.
Warring urged Congress workers to remain united and focused, stand with employees and other sections seeking justice, and continue their political struggle against the AAP government in Punjab. (ANI)
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