The Congress party criticised the Union government on Sunday following its announcement of the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), suggesting that the “U” in UPS signifies the Modi government’s “U-turns”.
The Congress’s remarks came after the Union Cabinet approved the scheme, which promises an assured pension of 50% of salary for employees who joined the service after January 1, 2004, under the National Pension System (NPS). This move, aimed at addressing longstanding demands from government employees, comes ahead of upcoming assembly elections in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir.
Taking a dig at the government, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, “The ‘U’ in UPS stands for Modi Govt’s U turns! Post June 4, the power of the people has prevailed over the arrogance of power of the Prime Minister.”
“Rollback in the budget regarding Long Term Capital Gain/Indexation. Sending Waqf Bill to JPC. Rollback of Broadcast Bill. Rollback of Lateral Entry,” Kharge said.
“We will keep ensuring accountability and protect 140 crore Indians from this despotic government!” the Congress chief said in his post on X.
The UPS will benefit approximately 23 lakh central government employees, with the potential to include up to 90 lakh if state governments opt to join. It includes features such as a guaranteed minimum pension of Rs 10,000 per month after 10 years of service, assured family pensions, and inflation indexation.
The new scheme transforms the NPS, which previously offered pensions based on contributions, into a more guaranteed pension system.
The UPS announcement follows several non-BJP states reverting to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), which provides pensions based on the last drawn salary and is adjusted for inflation.
NPS has been implemented for all government employees except those in the armed forces joining the central government on or after January 1, 2004.
Under the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), retired government employees received 50 per cent of their last drawn salary as monthly pensions. The amount keeps increasing with the hike in the DA rates. OPS is not fiscally sustainable as it is not contributory, and the burden on the exchequer keeps mounting.