Kolkata, May 16 (PTI) An association of West Bengal government employees on Friday hailed the Supreme Court's interim order, directing the state to pay 25 per cent of the outstanding Dearness Allowance (DA) within the next three months.

Sangrami Joutho Mancha convenor Bhaskar Ghosh said the state government had been denying its employees their rightful dues.

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"Thanks to the SC for upholding our rights," he said.

A bench comprising Justices Sanjay Karol and Sandeep Mehta, which was hearing a plea of the West Bengal government against the Calcutta High Court order on the issue, asked the state government to pay the DA arrears for 2009 to 2019 within three months.

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The ruling Trinamool Congress said it will abide by the SC order in letter and spirit.

TMC leader Joyprakash Majumdar, however, attacked the opposition, alleging they were trying to malign the state government..

Around six lakh state employees would benefit from the apex court's interim order.

State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said this was a historic win for the state's deprived government employees, and a "tight slap to a government 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 per cent 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," he alleged in a post on X.

Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said this is a huge victory for all state employees, who have been persistently fighting against the "unreasonable and hard-hearted" government.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)