Kejriwal, Lovely support demands for OPS in Delhi

The Pension Shankhanaad Rally, organised by the National Movement for Old Pension Scheme saw the participation of Central and State government employees from more than 20 States.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that he has requested the Union government to implement the old pension scheme (OPS) for Delhi government employees. He voiced his support on a day when thousands of protesters gathered at Ramlila Maidan in the capital for an agitation against the new pension scheme (NPS). Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely also participated in the rally and offered his support to the protesters.

The Pension Shankhanaad Rally, organised by the National Movement for Old Pension Scheme saw the participation of Central and State government employees from more than 20 States. The protesters are demanding a restoration of the OPS as those employees who joined government service after January 2004 have been forced into the NPS, which they fear will be detrimental to their future post-retirement.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Mr. Kejriwal said, “We strongly support the demand of [government] employees to bring back OPS. NPS is an injustice against employees. We have implemented OPS in Punjab and have written to Centre for implementing it for [Delhi government] employees. Some other non-BJP [governments] have also implemented OPS.”

Addressing government employees at the rally, Mr. Lovely said that the NPS was an anti-employee scheme and that the protest had sounded the bugle of the Narendra Modi-led government’s exit in the 2024 parliamentary election. “When Congress comes to power in Delhi, its top most priority would be to implement the old pension scheme. Regularisation of guest teachers and others on ad hoc rolls will also be the top priority of the Congress government,” Mr. Lovely said.

He added that the Congress party has been strongly backing the demands of government employees, to open the eyes of the Union government, which was working against the interest of the government employees, playing politics with their lives and careers, and doing injustice to them.

“If the government employees rise in revolt against a government, that implies that it was time for the ruling party to exit from power,” Mr. Lovely said.