With Unified Pension Scheme, BJP hopes to win back govt staff it lost to Congress

NEW DELHI: After offering top-ups through assured 50% of salary as pension and inflation adjustment, the Bhartiya Janata Party is expecting political gains from govt employees, a section of which was swayed by Congress' promise for a return to unfunded old pension scheme (OPS).
Government cadres, especially in Delhi that goes to polls in February, have been a vote bank for BJP.But in recent state elections, the demand for restoration of the OPS was used as a political stick to beat BJP. It was seen to have worked for Congress in Himachal Pradesh, where govt employees have traditionally wielded disproportionate influence.
The party, however, escaped any damage in Madhya Pradesh as it comprehensively won both Lok Sabha and assembly polls in the state.
Although it was less of an issue in the Lok Sabha polls, the unhappiness of a section of vocal govt employees was palpable. Many observers speculated that it could be a factor in upcoming poll battles.
Nearly 18 months in the making, the decision to implement the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) has come ahead of assembly polls in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir, dates for which have been announced. Assembly polls in Maharashtra and Jharkhand are also due this year.
Although Congress had vigorously advocated OPS in assembly polls, it was silent on OPS after the electoral setback in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and did not even mention it in the LS poll manifesto.
Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, while elaborating upon the Cabinet decision on the scheme, referred to how Congress made it a big poll issue in Himachal and Rajasthan, but OPS was never implemented by the party in the states, making it "an illusion".
"Congress has always been insensitive towards employees, which is reflected in Himachal and Rajasthan. The party made promises in both the states but failed to implement the OPS... their politics of creating illusions was once again exposed," Vaishnaw said.
He further said that the UPS, on the other hand, was a well thought through scheme under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi as it is fully funded by the state and promises intergenerational equality. "Besides, funds will be provided based on the current requirement, leaving nothing for future, unlike what Congress did in Himachal and Rajasthan," the minister said, while dismissing suggestions that it was a political call.