Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday hailed the old pension scheme announced by Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot in his budget, calling it a big decision in the interest of government employees.
The Congress leader took to Twitter to hail the government, adding, “The Congress party is fully dedicated to the interests of government employees. We have worked in the interest of the public, and will continue to work.”
While the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have promised to revert to the old pension scheme in Uttar Pradesh if voted back to power, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced restoration of the old pension scheme for the government employees.
“We all know that the employees associated with the government services should feel secure about the future, only then they can make their invaluable contribution towards good governance during the service period. Therefore, for all the employees appointed on or after January 1, 2004, I propose to implement the old pension scheme,” Ashok Gehlot said while presenting a populist budget ahead of the 2023 State Assembly election on Wednesday.
Before the implementation of the new pension scheme, government employees who retired were given a fixed pension amount equal to 50% of the last drawn salary.
The New Pension Scheme was implemented in 2004. As per the scheme, the pension amount was directly calculated as per the number of years in service. On retirement, the employee could withdraw 60% of the total pension amount in a lump sum. The remaining 40% has to be purchased from the insurance company’s annuity plan, on which the interest amount is given as monthly pension.
Former chief minister Vasundhara Raje called the budget ‘politically oriented’ and ‘lacking any vision.’