If voted to power, Congress will restore old pension scheme in TS: Congress MP Uttam Kumar

Hyderabad: Congress MP and former TPCC president Capt. N. Uttam Kumar Reddy reiterated the demand for the abolition of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and restoration of the Old Pension Scheme for Central and state government employees.

“It is unfortunate that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao are both turning a deaf ear to the demand of Central and state employees for the restoration of old pension scheme…It has been proven in Himachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, that the Congress party supports the demand for restoration of old pension scheme,” he said.

He was addressing a meeting of the employee union of Railway Mail Service of the P&T department at Sundaraiyya Vignan Kendram in Hyderabad on Monday.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy strongly condemned the BJP at the Centre and BRS government in the state for not abolishing the controversial contributory pension scheme (CPS) despite serious objection from employees. He said under the old pension scheme, employees get a defined pension and an employee is entitled to a 50% amount of the last drawn salary as a pension. However, the pension amount is contributory under the National Pension System being implemented by the BJP at the Centre and also in other non-Congress-ruled states.

Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy said the Congress party has restored the Old Pension Scheme in four states where it is in power. “Congress governments in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Himachal Pradesh and the JMM-led UPA government in Jharkhand have restarted the OPS for their employees,” he said.

He said the restoration of the old pension scheme was among the major promises made by the Congress party in the recently-held Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh. “Congress won the elections and restoration of OPS was approved in the very first meeting of Chief Minister Sukvinder Singh Sukhu’s Cabinet. Restoration of OPS in Telangana was promised by the Congress party in the 2018 election manifesto. Although we lost the elections, we are still fighting with the present BRS government on the issue,” he said, adding that the Congress party if voted to power in the 2023 elections will restore the old pension scheme in Telangana.

Mr. Uttam Kumar strongly condemned the PM’s adamant attitude regarding the continuation of the controversial contributory pension scheme. He said the National Joint Council of Action (NJCA) comprising over 50 Central and state employee unions has been protesting, demanding the restoration of OPS. The employees have categorically described the present national pension scheme as harmful to retired personnel. However, the Modi government is not willing to hold any talks with the agitating employees’ union, he said. He added that the anti-employee attitude of the Modi government was highly condemnable as it would affect the productivity of government employees. “Congress party is all set to win next elections both in Telangana and at the Centre and the new government will restore the old pension scheme immediately after coming to power,” he assured.

‘Centre privatising the public sector’

The Congress MP also condemned the Central government for privatising every sector in the country. “The BJP government has privatised airports, seaports, railways, coal mines, oil sector, banks and the also the insurance sector. It is introducing reforms aimed at benefiting only a few industrialists. More than 40 labour Acts have been repealed to deprive the workers of their legitimate rights,” he alleged.

Mr. Uttam Kumar said it was due to the wrong economic policies of the Modi government that the country’s wealth has gone into the hands of only a few corporates. Citing Oxfam India’s latest report “Survival of the Richest: The India Story,” he said that nearly 40% of the wealth created in India between 2012 and 2021 has gone to just 1% of the population and only 3% of the wealth has gone to the bottom 50%. The combined wealth of India’s 100 richest amounts to Rs. 54.12 lakh crores, which is almost 150% of India’s annual budget, he said.

He said that the Congress party will continue to oppose the privatisation of the public sector by the Modi government and launch a massive agitation. He assured the Central employees of all support to their agitation demanding restoration of the Old Pension Scheme.