LUCKNOW : Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday slammed the government’s reported refusal to pay 18 months dearness allowance (DA) arrears to central government employees, and questioned its claim of being a “global economic superpower”.

He also asked the government where is the money from the ever-increasing ‘GST collection’ going.

“Does the government’s claim of becoming a ‘global economic superpower’ mean that employees do not get their dues? The central government’s refusal to pay 18 months DA arrears to central employees is, in a way, a denial of ‘government guarantee’,” Yadav said in a post on ‘X’.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister also posted a newspaper clipping with the headline “Centre will not pay 18 months DA arrear to employees.”

“The government should tell where is the money from the ever-increasing ‘GST collection’, the ‘trillion dollar economy’ going? There is money for ships worth billions and leaking buildings, but not for the employees who actually run the government.

On one hand, rising inflation and on the other, not getting dearness allowance, is a double blow to employees with limited income,” he said.

Maintaining that non-payment will also affect efficiency of employees, Yadav said efficiency of employees, who are worried about their domestic expenditure, will also be affected.

“The BJP does not pay proper salary to those who work,” he added. He said the BJP government is not even considerate to the elderly, whose medical care expenses are increasing but not pension.

“Now does the government want senior citizens to go on a hunger strike for pension? By stopping railway concessions, the BJP has insulted senior citizens,” he added.