The employee organisations agitating for the restoration of the old pension scheme (OPS) have condemned the statement of the Finance minister Prem Chand Agarwal on the OPS. The minister had said that the restoration of the OPS is the issue of the Central government.

The president of the Uttarakhand chapter of the National Movement for Old Pension Scheme (NMOPS) Jeetmani Painyuli said that more than 90,000 employees and officers are agitating for OPS from last four years. He said that many States such as Rajasthan, Punjab, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have already given the benefit of OPS to their employees while the so called double engine governments are continuing to adopt an apathetic attitude towards the demand of the employees.

The general secretary of the organisation Mukesh Raturi said that the pension of employees is a state subject and terming it as an issue of union government is an attempt to hit the interests of the employees. He said that the NMOPS is organising pension march in all district headquarters of the country on April 16. The senior vice president of the NMOPS, Jagmohan Singh Rawat said more than 50 organisations of employees have extended their support to the NMOPS.

He said that ‘ Pension Rath Yatra’ would be taken out in all parts of the country in the month of June and from August 1 to 9 ‘ pension Ghanti Bajao’ programmes would be held outside the residences of Member of Parliament. A mega rally would be organised on October 1 in Delhi in which employees from all parts of the country would take part.

The office bearers of the NMOPS point out that the pension is a tool of social security of the employees. After a service of 20-30 years the employees are getting only Rs 1,000 to 2,000 as pension in the New Pension Scheme (NPS) and in such a condition the employees are justified in demanding the benefit of OPS.