The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday  launched its “Employee Welfare Scheme”, named after former Finance Minister and BJP stalwart late Arun Jaitley.

Jaitley’s wife, Sangeeta Jaitley, has donated the family pension for the betterment of the Group C employees of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat. The scheme will be called ‘Arun Jaitley Financial Assistance for Group C employees’ scheme’.

Children of the Group C employees will be rewarded with this welfare scheme, providing them three scholarships for higher technical/professional education in the fields of Engineering, Medicine and MCA/MBA/LLB. Along with this, families of Group C employees will be supported with a financial cover in case of death and medical emergency.

The family pension of Arun Jaitley at the present rates comes to over Rs 3 lakh annually and his wife, Sangeeta Jaitley has already transferred the amount to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat for the period after Jaitley’s death last year.

The family had refused to accept the former finance minister’s due pension last year on the grounds of Jaitley’s “philanthropist past”.

In a letter written to the chairman of the Rajya Sabha and also marked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, following the death of Arun Jaitley, Sangeeta Jaitley had asked that the pension due be offered to Class IV Rajya Sabha staff.

According to the Salary and Allowances of Members of Parliament Act, a former MP is entitled to a minimum pension of Rs 20,000 per month and an additional pension of Rs 1,500 per month for every year served as member of either House for a period exceeding five years.

Jaitley has been a Rajya Sabha member since 1999 which qualified him to receive an additional Rs 22,500 per month. The total monthly pension entitled to Arun Jaitley would have been around Rs 47,500.

However, Family pension to spouse or dependent of a member or ex-MP is equal to 50 per cent of the pension otherwise sanctioned to such departed member/ex-MP. Thus, Arun Jaitley’s family was eligible to get about Rs 25,000 per month or Rs 3 lakh per annum as pension.

The BJP stalwart breathed his last on August 24, 2019, at AIIMS after suffering from a prolonged illness.