Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath lambasted Leader of Opposition Akhilesh Yadav for what he called “spreading canard over the old pension issue'' and alleged that the SP chief wanted to enjoy the best of both worlds for which he was instigating the state employees.
“Akhilesh Yadav was Chief Minister from 2012 to 2017 and the Old Pension Scheme was abolished and a New Pension Scheme (NPS) was implemented during his tenure. What he did during his tenure as chief minister for five years. During the SP regime, neither the accounts of state employees under NPS were opened nor the state government deposited its share of contributory pension with Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority of India (PFRDA),’’ said Yogi Adityanath.
Reiterating that the BJP government was committed to protecting the interests of state employees, the Chief Minister said, “Soon after taking over as Chief Minister in 2017, his government set up a committee to look into the matter and later deposited Rs 10,000 crore as its share with the PFRDA. Moreover the state government enhanced its share from 10 percent to 14 per cent.’’
“The Samajwadi Party knew well that they would lose the election so they thought they could make any promise to the people ahead of the elections. The electorate saw through their game and now they are sitting in the opposition,’’ said Yogi.
Specifically targeting former BSP finance minister (200-7-12) and now Samajwadi Party MLA, Lalji Verma, the CM said, “Even Lalji Verma is criticising the BJP government on NPS. He must tell the House as to what he did as finance minister for retaining the Old Pension Scheme.’’
Ahead of the 2022 UP Assembly elections, Samajwadi Party had promised to restore the Old Pension Scheme if voted to power. The SP made the OPS an election issue and promised that all employees and teachers covered by the NPS will be given the benefit of the OPS. Akhilesh had cited the example of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh where the Old Pension Scheme was restored.
The promise of restoring the OPS by Akhilesh Yadav's promise of restoring the OPS has stirred the interest of several lakh government employees and teachers in the state during the assembly election. The state employees and teachers had been demanding it for several years. They felt that the OPS would provide them more social security than the NPS and had launched a movement for it during the Yogi-led BJP government's first tenure.