The BJP, the CPM, and the Congress celebrated the Supreme Court's dearness allowance (DA) ruling on Friday, while the Trinamul Congress said it would speak on the matter only after examining the verdict, though sources in the ruling party admitted to "considerable discomfort" with less than a year remaining for the Assembly elections.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who has often been fiercely critical of those agitating in favour of DA parity and moving court for it, had infamously referred to such activities in September 2017 as "gheu gheu (barking)".
"The Supreme Court has slapped the Mamata govt once again! After 17 shameless adjournments by a corrupt regime drowning in mela, khela & appeasement politics, the apex court has ordered WB govt to pay 25% of DA arrears to its employees," wrote BJP state unit chief Sukanta Majumdar in a statement on X.
"This is a historic win for Bengal’s deprived govt employees and a tight slap to a govt that spent crores on carnivals but cried poverty when asked to pay its workers their dues. Failed CM Mamata Banerjee’s lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi told the court the state couldn't pay 50% of DA because it would “break its financial backbone.”
But the truth is, Mamata & her inner circle looted the treasury dry—from SSC scams to cow & coal rackets, the list is endless," added the junior Union minister.
"Had the @AITCofficial not turned Bengal into a corruption laboratory, our employees wouldn’t have to beg the court for their rightful dues.... This verdict isn’t just legal—it’s moral.... BJP stands with every employee, every youth robbed of opportunity, and every citizen betrayed by this failed govt. We will build Sonar Bangla. And Mamata Banerjee will be held accountable."
Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari underscored the support the BJP had offered to the movement for the DA parity, and asserted that Mamata would soon be out as chief minister.
"This government has exposed itself as completely bankrupt... she (Mamata) should take responsibility and resign.... Anyway, she is all set to become a former chief minister. The BJP-led state government will be formed in Bengal. It will give DA and all facilities equal to the BJP-led Centre, and will also give jobs to the unemployed," claimed the BJP's Nandigram MLA.
The CPM's Rajya Sabha member Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya, who appeared as an advocate for the petitioners on behalf of the movement, mocked the state for telling the Supreme Court that the state would be back-broken if it had to give 50 per cent of the DA in the next four weeks.
"This government broke its own back a long, long time ago," he said.
"The employees had been running from pillar to post, seeking justice, for so long. After this verdict, they have received at least some recognition of their rights," added Bhattacharyya.
The Congress's chief spokesperson for Bengal, Soumya Aich Roy, said the state government should have duly acted a long time ago.
"The Supreme Court upheld the fact that it's a right, not a grant or an act of mercy.... The chief minister has crossed the limits of civility on several occasions, stooping to the lows of comparing them to dogs, with her "gheu gheu" remark. The ruling dispensation should be ashamed of themselves," he said, ruing the flight of capital, de-industrialisation, lack of employment opportunities, and the state of the economy in Bengal under Mamata.
Trinamool state vice-president Jay Prakash Majumdar said the party had heard of the order and was yet to examine an official copy of it.
"Once the copy arrives, the state government will examine it and make a statement. After that, the party will speak on it," he said.
Bengal finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, on behalf of the government, virtually echoed him.
Sources in the state government said the ruling was going to cause substantial problems.
"It isn't ideal, to say the least.... It does bring with it considerable discomfort," said a source on the condition of anonymity, adding that Mamata would be the first to formally comment on this, on behalf of the government and the party.
"With barely a year remaining for the election, this would not only inconvenience the government in terms of finances but also the party, politically," he added.