West Bengal: DA protesters in sit-in demonstration near state secretariat

Kolkata: West Bengal government employees’ organization on Friday started a sit-in demonstration near state secretariat 'Nabanna', demanding release of Dearness Allowance (DA) at par with their central government. The protests started after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday announced an additional four per cent DA to the state government employees from January 2024.

Announcing a 4% raise in Dearness Allowance (DA) for West Bengal government employees from January 2024, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reiterated that Dearness Allowance (DA) is not mandatory but optional.

“Sangrami Joutha Mancha” sat on protest with placards and shouted slogans in support of their demand for release of DA at par with central government employees. The Calcutta High Court last night gave conditional permission to the organisation to hold the demonstration at Nabanna bus terminus near the state secretariat for three days from Friday.


Justice Rajasekhar Mantha directed the petitioners to adhere to their undertaking to ensure that there is absolutely no disruption to any traffic or any inconvenience to the public at large. The court also noted that the petitioners also agreed to restrict the number of persons participating in the sit-in demonstration to 300.

The representatives of the platform claimed that there is a gap of 36 percentage points difference between the DA of state government and central government employees, even after the announcement of an additional four per cent DA to state government employees yesterday.

Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, a senior advocate and Rajya Sabha member, said, “DA is the right of the government employees. One cannot deny it.” Bhattacharya also went to the protest location to extend support to the protesters.

Congress leader and High Court advocate Koustav Chatterjee also participated in the protest with the DA protesters and went to the platform in front of Nabanna.