Chandigarh, Sept. 10 -- Protesting Punjab government employees called off their pen-down strike on Wednesday, the second day of their agitation, following an assurance from chief secretary KAP Sinha that no punitive action will be taken against them. The state government had previously declared a "no work, no pay" rule on Tuesday and threatened strict measures against absentee staff, prompting the Sanjha Mulazim Manch-the joint forum leading the agitation-to intensify their demonstration across secretariats, deputy commissioner offices, tehsils, and state department directorates. The forum was initially set to continue the strike till Friday, marking the second phase of a campaign that began with mass casual leave on August 27 after a scheduled meeting with chief minister Bhagwant Mann in Jalandhar was abruptly cancelled at the last hour. According to Sahil Sharma, general secretary of the Civil Secretariat Employees' Union, the September 8 protest was announced after the government initiated a punitive action. "Now since the chief secretary has given assurance that employees will not face any such action and the orders of August 27 and September 8 has been withdrawn, employees have joined their duties," he said. The plan to organise a mock Vidhan Sabha session on September 30, followed by demonstrations outsideministers' residences in October remain unchanged, he added. The dispute stems from an August 3 Punjab and Haryana high court verdict directing the state to release roughly Rs.14,191 crore in pending DA arrears. The state government has since appealed the order before the Supreme Court, arguing that releasing such a sum within a fortnight is fiscally impossible. BJP state leader and former IAS officer Jagmohan Singh Raju has urged chief minister Bhagwant Mann to extend the government's "no work, no pay" principle to ministers and MLAs, arguing that they too draw salaries from public funds. In a letter to the CM, Raju said the government should obtain direct public feedback on the availability and performance of ministers and MLAs. He maintained that representatives who remained continuously absent and failed to discharge their responsibilities should also face salary deductions....