India, Sept. 20 -- After months of confrontation with government employees, the Punjab government on Friday agreed, for now, to release 8 percentage points of the pending dearness allowance against the employees' demand for the full 18 per cent, with the amount to be paid in two instalments ahead of the assembly election in Punjab.

The decision came after a 90-minute meeting between Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and representatives of 12 employee unions. Aam Aadmi Party's Punjab president Aman Arora, who played a key role in the negotiations, announced the decision along with Cabinet Minister Baljit Kaur and representatives of the employee organisations. The government will release the 8 per cent DA in two instalments of 4 per cent each....