As the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) manages anti-incumbency in the run-up to the Assembly elections next year, one figure increasingly finding himself at the centre of protests is state Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema.On Sunday, thousands of government employees demanding the implementation of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) gathered at the Tolewal grain market in Sangrur district and marched towards Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s village of Satauj, around 3 km away. However, more than the CM, the object of ire was Cheema, whose village is also in the district. The finance minister has turned into a political piñata, as his department is in charge of meeting the demands of government employees — from implementing OPS and pay scales to paying dearness allowance (DA) and job regularisation.AdvertisementThis is not the first protest by government employees directed at Cheema. On August 22, the Elementary Trained Teachers’ (ETT) Union protested outside his Chandigarh residence to demand the implementation of state and not central pay scales for employees covered by a July 17, 2020, government notification. The police eventually had to step in to break up the protests.Read | Corridors of power: Raghav Chadha’s role, heat on CM Mann, and AAP’s own ShahThe biggest mobilisation occurred on August 7, when the Sanjha Mulazam Manch organised a major protest seeking release of pending DA arrears. Employee organisations maintain that Punjab government employees are currently getting 42% DA as against 60% for Central government employees.The month before, sanitation workers from more than 150 urban local bodies went on strike over demands, including a monthly wage of Rs 40,000 and job regularisation. Government employees from the Punjab State Power Corporation, MGNREGA, the National Health Mission, and several other departments have also staged protests in recent weeks, with demands ranging from regularisation and OPS to state pay scales.AdvertisementWith around seven lakh government employees across various departments, including contractual staff, their grievances are politically significant, posing a big problem for Cheema and the AAP. The protesters have drawn a parallel between the finance minister and his predecessor Manpreet Singh Badal, who was one of the ministers who regularly came under fire during the tenure of the previous Congress administration. Manpreet Badal subsequently moved to the BJP in January 2023.Read | Punjab CM’s wife sends legal notice to ex-judge after NHRC asks state to probe his complaint“In the previous Congress government, Manpreet Singh Badal was the finance minister and he always used to talk about financial constraints and austerity. He even got the notification of central pay scales implemented for recruits from July 17, 2020. Employees gave him a befitting reply. His unpopularity among employees contributed to his defeat by more than 65,000 votes from Bathinda Urban in the 2022 polls. The same thing can happen with Cheema,” said a leader of the Purani Pension Bahali Joint Platform, which led the demonstrations on Sunday.“The biggest grudge we have against the finance minister is that he used to sit in our dharnas when we protested against the previous Congress government. He assured us that the July 17, 2020, notification would be annulled once the AAP came to power. But what did he do after getting the finance portfolio? The government used force against us when we protested,” said Digvijay Pal Sharma, president of the Democratic Teachers Front.Government, minister take noteCognisant of how these protests may snowball in the coming months and jeopardise its re-election efforts, the AAP government has invited the Sanjha Mulazam Manch and the Purani Pension Bahali Sanjha Manch for talks on August 27, the same day various unions have announced a “Maha bandh”, with shutdowns, road dharnas, and coordinated action with farmer organisations. Work in more than 50 departments — including the outpatient departments of government hospitals, State Power Corporation, and transport services — are likely to be affected.For Cheema, the demonstrations and increasing dissatisfaction with this department pose a tough balancing act given Punjab’s high debt. The state’s outstanding debt stood at around Rs 4.2 lakh crore at the end of FY 2025-’26 and is expected to rise further in the current financial year. Conceding even one of the several demands may have implications for the state’s already stretched finances.The finance minister, who heads the Cabinet sub-committee that listens to the grievances of government employees and other organisations, insists that the AAP administration is engaging rather than avoiding the protesters.you may like“Every job is tough and so is the Finance Department. We inherited pending liabilities from the previous Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP governments. Still, we are listening to our employees. I am the only minister who has held so many meetings with employee unions,” Cheema has said.He sidestepped a question on the likely political implications of the protests in the 2027 polls, saying, “Staging protests and raising demands is the right of organisations, whether during elections or otherwise.Several “legitimate demands” had already been resolved, he claimed. On DA arrears, Cheema has claimed that the previous governments left Rs 14,161 crore in arrears. In contrast, the AAP government has submitted a proposal to the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the payment of the arrears, he said. So far, the government had paid around Rs 5,000-6,000 crore, with the remaining amount to be released soon, Cheema said. The demand for state pay scales was “under consideration”, he added.