Old pension scheme a rallying point for Congress in Kangra

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, October 28

The implementation of the old pension scheme (OPS) has become the rallying point for Congress candidates in Kangra district. Most of the Congress candidates in the district are carrying an aggressive campaign through posters and banners to highlight the party declaration that it would implement the OPS in case it was voted to power.

BJP mistreated employees: BALI

The BJP mistreated and victimised the employees for demanding the old pension scheme. The Congress is committed to implementing the scheme and will do so in the first Cabinet meeting if voted to power in the state. RS Bali, AICC Secretary

AICC secretary RS Bali, who is contesting from Nagrota, said, “The BJP mistreated and victimised the employees for demanding the old pension scheme. The Congress is committed to implementing the scheme and will do so in the first Cabinet meeting if voted to power in the state.”

The Congress candidates are helping office bearers of the employee unions, who had been agitating for implementation of the OPS in the state, to organize meetings of the employees. Two days ago, a meeting of government employees was held in Kangra Assembly constituency in which the employees were made to take a pledge that they and their family members would vote for the Congress as the party stood the OPS implementation.

Sources here said that the Congress leaders had calculated that there were 2000 to 3000 employees in each Assembly constituency of the district who were demanding implementation of the OPS. In case these employees polarize for Congress, it could be a game changer in the forthcoming elections in Kangra district that has 15 Assembly constituencies. About 90,000 government employees are covered under the New Pension Scheme (NPS) in the state and are demanding implementation of OPS.

The BJP, on the other hand, was defending its decision of not implementing the OPS. Today, Vijai Singh Mankotia, who has joined the BJP recently, defended the decision of the BJP of not declaring to implement the OPS. He said it was the Congress government at the Centre in 2004 that scrapped the OPS.

The Congress has just announced that it would implement the OPS in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh but has not been able to do so due to lack of resources. The states should first sit with the Union government and discuss from where they would generate resources for implementing the OPS. The Congress was just trying befool the government employees by announcing the implement the OPS, he said.