‘AAP failed Bhagat Singh, his ideals': Vets protest for pay parity in Khatkar Kalan

Indian Express

12 hours ago

Veterinary doctors from Punjab's Animal Husbandry Department staged a protest demanding restoration of pay parity with medical officers and implementation of the Dynamic Assured Career Progression (DACP) scheme at the ancestral village of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, Khatkar Kalan, on Monday.
Under the banner of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Vets for Pay Parity, protest leaders said veterinarians and medical officers had received equal pay for 42 years — from 1978 to 2020. However, in January 2021 the then-Congress government slashed the starting salary of vets from ₹56,100 to ₹47,600 — contradicting court rulings.
The ruling was made by Punjab and Haryana High Court in a civil writ petition filed by Dr Sukhdev Singh and others against the state of Punjab.
JAC convener Dr Gurcharan Singh said this pay cut was a betrayal. The AAP government failed to reverse an unjust decision taken over four years ago by former Finance minister Manpreet Badal, he said. 'Will they follow Badal's ideology or Bhagat Singh's?'
On DACP, Dr Singh said that under the scheme the assured career progression takes place after four, nine and 14 years of service.
JAC media advisor Dr Gurinder Singh Walia noted that while pay commissions normally maintain or raise pay scales for comparable categories, 'this is the first time in history that a category's salary has been reduced by a mere finance department letter without any rationale'. He urged Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to address the issue on priority to undo the injustice.
The co-conveners, Dr Puneet Malhotra and Dr Abdul Majid said: 'Punjab is the only state where this disparity has existed since 2021.' According to them veterinarians and medical officers receive the same pay and benefits in Chandigarh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha and Haryana, and across the Central government, the Indian Army, and the BSF. The convenors alleged that the government has issued no notification to restore parity despite multiple meetings and assurances.
Committee coordinator Dr Tejinder Singh stressed that veterinarians do more than just desk work to strengthen the rural economy. They travel to remote villages to treat and vaccinate animals, control diseases, and improve milk production, he said. He warned that continued inaction would escalate the protest and that the government would be responsible for any negative impact on animal health and farmers' incomes.
A joint memorandum was also sent to the Punjab government.
The protest ended with JAC leaders paying floral tributes to Bhagat Singh's statue. Anti-government were raised as banners and placards condemned the policies of the previous and current regimes. Retired veterinary doctors also joined the march in solidarity.