A day after thousands of government employees in Gujarat went on mass casual leave seeking the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), Punjab Chief Minister and AAP leader Bhagwant Mann on Monday said his government was considering reverting to the old scheme. Soon, AAP national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal hailed the move on Twitter.
“My government is considering reverting to the Old Pension System (OPS). I have asked my Chief Secretary to study the feasibility and modalities of its implementation. We stand committed to the welfare of our employees,” Mann tweeted.
Wow! A great decision. All govt employees across India want Old pension scheme to be restored. https://t.co/rOll0SY5CU
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) September 19, 2022
Arvind Kejriwal retweeted the post, calling it a “great decision” especially when the demand for OPS was being raised across the country.
Debt-ridden Punjab had done away with OPS in 2004 when then chief minister Amarinder Singh had to take several tough decisions to fill the state’s empty coffers. Back then, he had also done away with free power for farmers, but was forced to revert that decision owing to political backlash.
The Punjab government has a pension bill of Rs 11,000 crore. Besides, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government recently doled out 300 free units of power to households every month, further burdening the state exchequer. Punjab is already under a debt of Rs 2.63 lakh crore.
The AAP will also be contesting in the upcoming Assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
