SHIMLA: Encouraged by an open support from Congress, thousands of state employees and pensioners under the banner of NPS Employees Association staged a massive protest outside the Vidhan Sabha today on the last day of Monsoon session, demanding restoration of Old Pension Scheme (OPS).
The restoration of the OPS for lakhs of employees, a major vote bank in Himachal Pradesh’s electoral politics, has made OPS as a major political issue making the parties to dance to their "uneasy tunes".
Congress MLAs staged walkout from Vidhan sabha today after the Vidhan Sabha Speaker refused a debate on OPS.
The MLAs came out and shouted slogans against the Jai Ram Thakur government, demanding that the government has no right to stay in office as it has failed to resolve the issue of employees and the farmers in the state.
Congress MLAs led by the leader of the Opposition Mukesh Agnihotri supported the employees demands, with a promise that it would restore OPS when it comes to power in the state.
Today's protest came as repeat of a similar showdown during the last Budget session when thousands of employees and pensioners had staged a massive march on the Cart Road to Vidhan Sabha demanding OPS.
The BJP government has failed on all fronts and its days are numbered, Asha Kumari told media persons outside the Vidhan Sabha.
The Congress party when it comes to power will restore OPS as its counterpart in Rajasthan has done, she said.
Farmers are on the roads, employees are on the roads in protest as the present government has failed to redress their grievances, Asha Kumari charged.
The employees on protest shouted slogans in support of their demands as they started their march towards the Vidhan sabha.
After the protest employees’ leaders were invited for talks by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur in the Vidhan sbaha complex and assured them that the government would take up the matter with centre.
Earlier, Chief Minister had constituted the committee under the Chief Secretary to examine the issue. But nothing substantial has come out so far, charged the employees.
Considering its political fallout, Chief Minister Jairam Thakur, however, blamed the previous Congress government for not restoring the old pension scheme, when it was in power from 2012 to 2017 and in 2003.
He said Congress was trying get political mileage out of this issue, but OPS is difficult to implement, he told media.
on the other hand, Congress leaders said they did not have any option other than boycotting the non-cooperative government, which did nothing for the last over four years, they told media outside the House.
Opposition leaders accused the Jai Ram Thakur government of misleading employees and pensioners on the issues of OPS and new pay-scales for the last four years in the state.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister gave patient hearing to delegation of employees, who met him in Vidhan sabha today.
Chief Minister assured them that the State Government would sympathetically consider their genuine demands.
Thakur said the State Government would also apprise the Central leadership about restoration of OPS for the state employees.
Chief Secretary R.D. Dhiman, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Subhasish Panda were also present in the meeting.
