Rajasthan Assembly.
| Photo Credit: ANI
The Opposition Congress on January 24 sought clarity on the issue of continuation of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for government employees who joined service on or after January 1, 2004, in Rajasthan. The Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly Tika Ram Jully raised the matter during the Zero Hour in the State Assembly, while pointing out that the previous Congress regime had restored the OPS in 2022.
The new BJP government is yet to take a decision on the issue in view of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent statement, in which he said that a committee had been constituted to study the OPS and the government would deliberate on it once the committee submitted its report.
Comment | Why we need to debate the Old Pension Scheme
Mr. Jully cited a January 22 order of the Agriculture Department stating that the pension to newly recruited Research Officers would be given under the National Pension System (NPS). He said a decision such as this could not be taken when the Assembly was in session.
“When the Assembly is functioning, the government cannot implement the NPS without placing the papers of its decision in the House. This is an insult to the House and amounts to an infringement of the privilege of the members. No new scheme can be brought into force like this,” Mr. Jully said.
The Leader of Opposition said the government employees in the State wanted to know of the government’s intention to continue or discontinue the OPS. “The government officials are afraid that the NPS will be implemented as soon as the Lok Sabha elections are over,” he said.
Thought the State government did not reply to Mr. Jully’s questions in the House, the Agriculture Department issued a revised order later in the day, in which the section mentioning the NPS was deleted. However, the new order did not mention any provision for the pension system applicable to the newly appointed officers.
The BJP government may continue with the OPS in the new appointments at least till the Lok Sabha elections are over, as any change in the decision may lead to resentment among a large section of government employees. The BJP did not support the OPS during its campaign for the 2023 Assembly election.
Comment | Should States revert to the Old Pension Scheme?
The then Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had announced restoration of the OPS while presenting the 2022-23 State Budget in the Assembly on February 23, 2022. The contribution-based NPS was also a major issue in the 2022 Assembly elections in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, where the ruling BJP was caught in a difficult situation after the Samajwadi Party and other Opposition ensembles made promises on retirement benefits.
The Congress had touted the restoration of the OPS as a “historic decision” to provide security to government employees in their old age, and urged other States to think on the NPS in a new perspective. During the 2023 Assembly election, the Congress promised a statutory status for OPS, if elected to power again, to ensure that no government in future stops the benefit for the superannuated government employees.
