Protests over old pension scheme rock Panchkula, police use tear gas |

Protests over old pension scheme rock Panchkula, police use tear gas | Details here

Thousands of government employees gathered in Haryana's Panchkula on Sunday to press their demand for the restoration of the old pension scheme.

With Haryana set to go to the polls later this year, thousands of state government employees gathered in Panchkula on Sunday to press their demand for the restoration of the old pension scheme.

Thousands of Haryana government employees gathered on the Panchkula-Chandigarh border, tried to cross over into the Union Territory and march towards the Haryana chief minister's residence and 'gherao' it to press for their demand.

However, the protesters were stopped and Haryana Police used water cannons and tear gas shells to disperse them. Even tear gas shells were fired at the agitators.

Government employees in Haryana are demanding the restoration of the old pension scheme as the scheme has been introduced in the Congress-ruled states of Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.

"Restoration of OPS is a legitimate demand. Governments of Rajasthan, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh have restored it. The Haryana government has given an excuse that the government will go bankrupt if OPS is restored, which is not correct," a Old Pension Scheme (OPS) Restoration Struggle Committee representative told news agency PTI.

The old pension scheme has also been introduced in Jharkhand, where the Congress is a junior partner in the ruling coalition led by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. It's also in force in the AAP-ruled state of Punjab.

Union leaders of government employees believe that statements made by the country's economists and politicians regarding the old pension scheme are not logical because the MLAs and MPs of the state themselves are getting multiple pensions.

Former deputy chairman of the planning commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, has said the reintroduction of the old pension scheme (OPS) by some state governments is a recipe for financial bankruptcy.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is of the view that moving from the new pension scheme to the old pension scheme may increase the financial burden of states and the country.

Leader of the employees union Vijender Dhariwal said the employees have been demanding restoration of the old pension scheme since 2018 and are not pressing their demand for the sake of elections. "The government did not take any action with regard to our demand and tried to suppress us," he said.

Protests over old pension scheme rock Panchkula, police use tear gas | Details here

Thousands of government employees gathered in Haryana's Panchkula on Sunday to press their demand for the restoration of the old pension scheme.

🙏Thanks for visiting😇

#joinus on https://linktr.ee/newsas