After Kharge's 'U-turn' jibe over pension scheme, BJP questions Congress on its promises

New Delhi, August 25

The BJP on Sunday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the decision to bring a unified pension scheme for central government employees and hit out at the Congress, asking why it has not implemented its promise of bringing back the old pension scheme in Himachal Pradesh and other states where it is in power.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, senior party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad slammed Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for his U-turn jibe at the Centre and said Prime Minister Modi is "sensitive" to public issues and takes decisions in public interest after careful consideration.

The Modi government does not take "ad-hoc decisions", the former Union minister said and asked Kharge to tell the nation why his party has taken a "U-turn" on its poll promise of implementing the old pension scheme in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana after coming to power in these states.

"The Congress has made the old pension scheme a massive issue in Indian politics over the last two years. So much so that the Congress made even Priyanka Gandhi Vadra announce during elections in Himachal Pradesh that the party will implement the old pension scheme in the state if voted to power," Prasad said.

"Will this Congress only make announcements or implement them as well? The Congress in general and Rahul Gandhi in particular, please tell the nation did you implement the old pension scheme as promised in Himachal Pradesh," he said.

The BJP leader accused Gandhi of "bluffing" people by making false promises for votes and asked him to desist from such practice.

"We are proud of Prime Minister Modi that he listened to and understood the concerns of the (central government) employees, set up a committee to look into that, and a meaningful decision was made. On behalf of the party, we greet the government, especially the prime minister for this," he added.

Prasad said the Congress had become "so weary of the palpable falsehood" of its assurance about the pension scheme that it could not muster the courage to include it in its Lok Sabha poll manifesto.

"Rahul Gandhi, what are you doing, brother? How much do you bluff? Tell the truth sometimes. And when you say something, you should do it. If you can't do it then don't say it," he said.

"Rahul Gandhi, the country is not run like this. Governing India is a serious business where decisions have to be made after careful consideration. Ad hocism doesn't work here," Prasad added.

Taking a dig at the government, Congress president Kharge said in a post on X, "The 'U' in UPS stands for Modi Govt's U turns! Post June 4, the power of the people has prevailed over the arrogance of power of the Prime Minister."

However, the BJP asserted that the UPS has been in the making since 2023 and it was reported by media too.

"Kharge ji, The Unified Pension Scheme has been in the making since 2023, much before June 4, 2024...," BJP IT department head Amit Malviya said in response to Kharge's post.

"You are the Congress President. Can't come across as so clueless and ill-informed. But what the new well-thought out-pension scheme has done is reduced Congress's room for profligate politics," he said.