The newly-formed Chhattisgarh Government on Tuesday suspended the pension for those jailed under Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) and Defence of India Rules (DIR) during Emergency period, 1975-77.

Through an order, Secretary,General Administration Department, Rita Shandilya directed all the divisional commissioners and district collectors to do physical verification of detainees and also instruct the district treasury officers to stop disbursing the pension amount from the month of February. 

Commenting on the Government’s decision, National Vice-President of Loktantra Senani Sangh and senior BJP leader Sachchidanand Upasne said “though the pension had been suspended from month of February citing the reason of physical verification of the detainees, the intention of Government was to close it down”. “If not so, they could have done physical verification by continuing the pension”, he claimed.

“Only people from the BJP and the RSS are not there among the pensioners; it also consists of socialists, communists, Jamat-e-Islami and also among the sections of journalists and social workers,’’ he said.

The Emergency was imposed almost 45 years ago and roughly 300 people are left nowadays in the State and most of them are widows of detainees. “There would be a crisis of livelihood and also for getting treatment of ailment they are suffering in old age,’’ Upasane further added.

He gave a broad hint of approaching court citing that the Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan High Courts have earlier given decision in favour of MISA detainees and have instructed the State Governments to continue with the pension.