SP promise to restore pension scheme bouys govt. employees

Several lakh State govt. staff have been demanding a roll back of the market-linked NPS

“Until we give him an opportunity, how will we know,” asks Asha Pandey, a teacher at a government school in Varanasi, intrigued by Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav’s election promise that he would restore the old pension system (OPS) for retired state government employees and teachers if voted to power.

Ms. Pandey feels that if government employees demanding restoration of the old pension scheme do not vote the SP this time, the issue might evaporate as the ruling BJP has indicated that it favours the continuation of the National Pension Scheme (NPS). “Nobody else is talking about it, so we must give the SP a chance [to form government and fulfil its promise],” she said.