Amit Shah promises government jobs and implementation of Seventh Pay Commission
Telegraph | 3 March 2026
Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday promised abundant "corruption-free" government jobs and implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission for state government employees, in an apparent bid to counter Mamata Banerjee's Yuva Sathi scheme for unemployed youths and other doles ahead of the Assembly polls.
"The state government employees who did a lot for the Mamata Banerjee government during its 15-year tenure were deprived. They are still being paid under the Sixth Pay Commission. I assure you (employees) that within 45 days of the BJP assuming power in Bengal, it will implement the Seventh Pay Commission for all state employees," Shah said while addressing a Parivartan Yatra rally in the Raidighi Assembly constituency of South 24-Parganas.
State government staff have been demanding dearness allowance on a par with their central counterparts.
A source said Shah’s attempt to woo state government employees ahead of the elections was significant, as thousands of them are directly involved in the electoral process. Most officers and staff involved in the ongoing SIR process, as well as those serving as presiding officers during elections, are state government employees.
The BJP has repeatedly alleged that the Trinamool Congress misuses a section of government employees for political purposes and to influence elections.
"So, if government employees are happy with the BJP’s proposals, their role in conducting elections will certainly be without any bias," said a BJP leader.
Bhaskar Ghosh, convenor of Sangrami Joutha Mancha, an outfit of state government employees fighting for the DA, said it welcomed Shah’s message but wanted a clearer version of such assurances.
"The structure of the Central Seventh Pay Commission is identical to what we receive in the state under the Sixth Pay Commission. The difference lies in the DA, as we get 40 per cent less compared to central government employees," Ghosh said.
"We welcome the Union home minister’s statement, as the prime Opposition party has thought about state government employees. But we will be happy if he clearly says that within 45 days of coming to power, all pending DA will be cleared and we will start receiving salaries on a par with central employees," he added.
Apart from state government employees, Shah also attempted to woo unemployed youth. Unemployment is a core issue in Bengal amid allegations of a lack of recruitment.
BJP leaders claimed that 10 lakh state government posts were lying vacant, and thousands of permanent posts had been abolished by the Trinamool government. There are allegations that a large number of youths have lost opportunities because of delays in recruitment, and they have crossed the upper age limit.
Shah assured that within two months, and by December 2026 at the latest, a BJP-run state government would fill all vacant posts and restore the permanent posts which had been abolished.
Shah said recruitment would be corruption-free and, if the BJP won power, it would grant a five-year age relaxation.
"Bengal’s youth will receive a special five-year age relaxation in government recruitment examinations to compensate for lost opportunities caused by recruitment delays," he said.
Multiple sources said the move to woo youth was necessary, as lakhs of young voters were found queuing up for Mamata Banerjee’s newly launched Yuva Sathi scheme, under which the state provides a monthly dole of ₹1,500 to unemployed youth.
'Abhishek's rule'
Shah on Monday claimed that if people of Bengal elected a Trinamool government again, even by mistake, power would be handed over to Abhishek Banerjee and the regime would not remain under his aunt Mamata’s control. He alleged that Mamata was fighting the election to make her nephew the next chief minister.