Without OPS: CPM elected legislators not to claim salary -Pension

Shimla, November 6 – CPI(M) fighting the Assembly Election on total of 11 seats in Himachal, today announced that all its elected MLA in the next Vidhan sabha wouldn’t claim any Salary, pension and allowance till it would not push up Old Pension System and firm policy for outsourcing employees in the state. Addressing a press conference here Party candidate from Shimla Tekinder Singh Panwar and Senior Counsel in Himachal Pradesh High court Advocate Sanjeev Bhushan said that OPS is a big issue in the state assembly elections and if any party could ensure its proper implementation it is only CPI(M). Tekinder Singh Panwar said that Congress has given a guarantee of implementation of OPS but it is important that it gets restored in proper perspective and not like the 4-9-14 policy. He said that party MLAs who would win the election wouldn’t claim any salary or pension until OPS wouldn’t be implemented effectively.  He said that change in government is expected in this election but it is important that such MLA should be elected who could push up the issue till both the popular demand of people get properly redressal. Addressing a press conference Sanjeev Bhushan said that the track record of Congress and BJP was no different in the implementation of the New Pension System. He said that there was NDA government in the centre and Virbhadra Singh government in the state when the government signed MOU of NPS on May 3 2003 and latter adopted it from the back date of two years of  MOU. He said that both BJP and Congress played an equal role to adopt NPS by alluring Employees then that ten per cent deduction would be done from the Employees’ salaries and 17 pc share deduction from the government and money invested in the share market to be refunded after multiplying it may fold.  From 2004 onwards baring CPI(M) or left front government in West Bengal, Kerela and Tripura refused to introduce or signed NPS MOU however in 2014 during Congress RDF government in Kerela and in 2017 BJP government in Tripura adopted NPS by signing the MOU. Mr Bhushan stated that barring WB all state governments have implemented NPS. He said that CPI(M) fought vehemently to not adopt this anti-employee New Pension Scheme as it is not in favour of Employees at all. He said that a Petition is pending before Himachal Pradesh High court in which his client who retired as a lecturer was forced to work as a vegetable vendor in Kangra district as under NPS Petitioner is entitled to get Rs1100 pension. He said that it is a clear indicator of the fall out of NPS.  He said that Policy of outsourcing employment is like a vegetable market as vegetable talent and Human resources could be dealt making it a lucrative business for the middlemen. He said that in 2000 state government appointed computer teachers on an outsource basis who are still working under the same exploitive policy and now they are sitting on a chain hunger strike for the last three months. Mr Bhushan stated that mere change in government not works to adopt OPS and outsource policy in the right perspectives without having effective leadership inside the assembly. He gave an instance of Assured Career Prohibition Scheme introduced in 2008, under which  Employees were also deprived of 4 -9-14 . It was CPI(M) that fought against  ACPS as revised pay scale of Employees was stopped by erestwhile BJP state Government under the pressure of the centre. Since there was no MLA left to press its effective implementation,  despite Congress coming into power in 2012 on the promise, couldn’t restore 4-9-14 and subsequent notification made it redundant. He warned that it appears that without having strong leadership in 2022 if Congresss would return to power it would not serve the purpose of OPS till it was not implemented in the right perspectives honestly which requires a legislator of CPI(M).