Will go back to old pension scheme if voted to power in Gujarat, says Congress

AHMEDABAD: The Congress will implement the old pension scheme (OPS) in Gujarat just like its governments have done in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan if it is voted to power in the Assembly polls here likely to be held in December, party leaders said on Monday.

Incidentally, Congress spoke about bringing back the OPS on the same day when Punjab Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Bhagwant Mann tweeted that "my government is considering reverting to the old pension system (OPS)".

Senior Gujarat Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia said Mann was considering reverting to the OPS, whereas the governments in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have already implemented it.

"The Congress will do the same when voted to power in Gujarat. I have seen his (Mann's) tweet. He has only said he will consider it. He has not made any announcement or issued a government resolution for the same, nor taken any decision. On the other hand, Congress governments in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have implemented it," Modhwadia told reporters.

"The Rajasthan government and our Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced during the last budget to implement the old pension scheme. Our government in Chhattisgarh has also implemented the OPS. It is our promise to all the employees in Gujarat who joined on or after 2004 that we will do the same here when voted to power," reiterated Gujarat Congress state in charge Raghu Sharma.

Hailing Mann's tweet, Gujarat AAP president Gopal Italia said the Punjab government had "decided to implement the old pension scheme in Punjab".

Incidentally, thousands of retired government employees in Gujarat have held protests recently demanding the re-introduction of the OPS, whereas current staffers had earlier planned a 'mass casual leave' stir for the same.