NEW DELHI: In a scathing retort to Congress party’s “U-turn” jibe on the government’s announcement of the Unified Pension Scheme, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday questioned the grand old party about its plans to meet its election promise of reinstating the Old Pension Scheme in Himachal Pradesh.
Senior party leader and MP Ravi Shankar Prasad accused the Congress of making announcements to garner votes and said, “I want to ask Rahul Gandhi, has his government implemented the Old Pension Scheme as promised in Himachal Pradesh?”
“The Congress party has become so wary of the palpable falsehood of its assurance about pension, it could not muster the courage to include that as a part of its manifesto in the Lok Sabha elections,” the former minister said.
“Governing India is a serious business … The Congress party just makes announcements to garner votes and now the public has lost trust in its decisions,” he added.
This comes after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that the announcement of the Unified Pension Scheme signifies another “U-turn” by the Modi administration.
Kharge said, “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.”
Kharge also pointed out previous policy reversals, mentioning, “Rollback in the budget regarding Long Term Capital Gain/Indexation. Sending Waqf Bill to JPC. Rollback of Broadcast Bill. Rollback of Lateral Entry.” “We will keep ensuring accountability and protect 140 crore Indians from this despotic government!”
The new pension scheme guarantees a minimum pension of Rs 10,000 per month upon retirement after at least 10 years of service. Initially, it will benefit 23 lakh central government employees, with the potential to extend to 90 lakh if state governments opt to join.
Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the scheme also provides assured family pensions for the spouses of deceased employees. Additionally, the pension, family pension, and minimum pension will be adjusted for inflation.
This new Unified Pension Scheme replaces the National Pension System (NPS), which previously offered pensions based on contributions from both employees and the government. The change comes as several non-BJP states have reverted to the DA-linked Old Pension Scheme (OPS), and similar demands are being made by employee organizations in other areas.
The NPS, implemented for all central government employees, except those in the armed forces, who started service on or after January 1, 2004, was designed differently from the OPS. Under the Old Pension Scheme, retirees received 50 percent of their last drawn salary as a monthly pension, which increased with cost-of-living adjustments. However, the OPS has faced criticism for being fiscally unsustainable due to its non-contributory nature, which places a growing financial burden on the government.
Senior party leader and MP Ravi Shankar Prasad accused the Congress of making announcements to garner votes and said, “I want to ask Rahul Gandhi, has his government implemented the Old Pension Scheme as promised in Himachal Pradesh?”
“The Congress party has become so wary of the palpable falsehood of its assurance about pension, it could not muster the courage to include that as a part of its manifesto in the Lok Sabha elections,” the former minister said.
“Governing India is a serious business … The Congress party just makes announcements to garner votes and now the public has lost trust in its decisions,” he added.
This comes after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that the announcement of the Unified Pension Scheme signifies another “U-turn” by the Modi administration.
Kharge said, “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.”
Kharge also pointed out previous policy reversals, mentioning, “Rollback in the budget regarding Long Term Capital Gain/Indexation. Sending Waqf Bill to JPC. Rollback of Broadcast Bill. Rollback of Lateral Entry.” “We will keep ensuring accountability and protect 140 crore Indians from this despotic government!”
The new pension scheme guarantees a minimum pension of Rs 10,000 per month upon retirement after at least 10 years of service. Initially, it will benefit 23 lakh central government employees, with the potential to extend to 90 lakh if state governments opt to join.
Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the scheme also provides assured family pensions for the spouses of deceased employees. Additionally, the pension, family pension, and minimum pension will be adjusted for inflation.
This new Unified Pension Scheme replaces the National Pension System (NPS), which previously offered pensions based on contributions from both employees and the government. The change comes as several non-BJP states have reverted to the DA-linked Old Pension Scheme (OPS), and similar demands are being made by employee organizations in other areas.
The NPS, implemented for all central government employees, except those in the armed forces, who started service on or after January 1, 2004, was designed differently from the OPS. Under the Old Pension Scheme, retirees received 50 percent of their last drawn salary as a monthly pension, which increased with cost-of-living adjustments. However, the OPS has faced criticism for being fiscally unsustainable due to its non-contributory nature, which places a growing financial burden on the government.