Old Pension Scheme: Government employees roar at Jantar Mantar, threaten for massive protest in Parliament in 2024
New Delhi : A large-scale protest took place today at Jantar Mantar under the banner of the National Mission for Old Pension Scheme (AENPS), where thousands of government employees demonstrated, demanding the reinstatement of the old pension for government employees in India. The protest included employees from various sectors, including Central Government CGE, Audit, AIIMS, Railways, Education, Health, Nursing, Paramilitary, Defense, BMHRC, Delhi University, IGNOU, and many others. Participants came from states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chandigarh, Punjab, among others. The employees, thundering at Jantar Mantar, declared that if the government does not make a decision soon, they will welcome the government in 2024 with a Parliament siege.
The protest under the banner of the National Mission for Old Pension Scheme in India was named Pension Jayghosh Maharally. The rally was led by Dr. Manjeet Singh Patel, the National President of the All India NPS Employees Federation. Addressing the rally, Patel stated that if the government does not reinstate the guaranteed pension for employees by the time of the Lok Sabha elections, a siege of Parliament will be organized with the swearing-in of the new government next year. He also stated that we are not demanding the name but needs guarantee of old age socio income security on retirement as half of the last basic salary plus dearness allowance after qualifying service. Several prominent leaders from Uttar Pradesh participated in the rally, including Ram Lal Yadav, Kranti Singh, Pradeep Saral, Dr. Pradeep, JP Pandey, Basant Lal Gautam, Padmanabh, and Syed Sharik, among others.
Ram Lal Yadav stated that a significant protest for the swift reinstatement of the old pension will soon take place in the capital of Uttar Pradesh. With the National Secretary of the Federation, Sudhir Rup Ji, alongside, participants from various states, including Mohammad Zulfikar Ahmed from Maharashtra, Sanjeev Verma from IGNOU, Banti Kumar from AIIMS, Satyavir Dagur and Manjulika from PGIMER Chandigarh, Janak Rawat from Madhya Pradesh, Shashikant Sharma from Bhopal, Amardeep Kaur from Punjab, Mua from Nagaland, L.D. Chauhan from Himachal, and others, joined the Federation's Delhi State President Vinod Yadav. Vinod Yadav emphasized that the All India NPS Employees Federation is an organization for AENPS employees across India, dedicated to the welfare of NPS employees. He asserted that the struggle will continue until the concept of 'One Country, One Pension' is fulfilled, echoing the principle of 'One Nation, One Constitution.
Amit Pandey, Rajesh Bhati, Chanika, Teekam Yadav, Sudhir Sharma Dilip, Basant Puran, Shyam, Pradeep, Samarendra, Alka Rana, Dinesh Prajapati, Atul Pandey, Vijay Tiwari, Shyam Sundar, Iqbal Kasim, Taruna Sharma, Pushpendra Singh, Vishnu Gupta, Lokesh Verma, Manish Sankhla, Dr. Sanjeev Kumar, Ravindra Katheriya, Gaurav Vats, Anish Gupta, Rajendra Ola, Mithilesh, Manish Kumar, Irfan Ali Khan, among others, were present in the Delhi team of the Federation. The defense leader and the National Secretary of the organization, Mohammad Zulfikar Ahmed, stated that while the Indian government has retained the old pension for armed forces, it is exploiting the paramilitary and ordnance employees by placing them in the NPS. He questioned how employees in the defense sector can tolerate different provisions in the same ministry. Employees expressed that the rally at Jantar Mantar regarding the reinstatement of the old pension is the last one for this year. If the government does not make a prompt decision on the guaranteed restoration of the old pension, the Federation will welcome the government with a Parliament siege in 2024.
