A day after the Union cabinet approved the unified pension scheme, the Congress on Sunday took a dig at the Centre, saying the ‘U’ in UPS stands for the ‘U-turns’ done by the Narendra Modi government.
"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,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote on X.
"Rollback in the budget regarding Long Term Capital Gain/Indexation. Sending Waqf Bill to JPC. Rollback of Broadcast Bill. Rollback of Lateral Entry," he said, adding that the opposition will keep ensuring accountability and protect 140 crore Indians from the “despotic government”.
The ‘U’ in UPS stands for Modi Govt’s U turns!
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) August 25, 2024
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… pic.twitter.com/DJbDoEyl6g
In a major announcement, the Union cabinet on Saturday approved the UPS which is expected to benefit over 23 lakh government employees who joined service under the National Pension System (NPS).
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the new scheme will be implemented from April 1, 2025 and employees will have the option to choose between the NPS or UPS.
The Congress, however, alleged that the UPS appears to be an attack on Dalits, tribals and backward classes.
"In many states, the upper age limit for government jobs for reserved category is 40 years. In UPSC, this limit is 37 years. Under the unified pension scheme, it is mandatory to render 25 years of service to get a full pension. In such a situation, how will Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Classes employees avail this facility," asked Pawan Khera, Congress' media and publicity department head.
"Now the government should tell whether it wants to end the upper age limit facility available to the underprivileged or wants to deprive them of full pension?,” he asked.
Under the UPS, government employees will be eligible to get 50 per cent of the average basic pay drawn over the last 12 months before the superannuation as pension. For this full pension or 50 per cent of pay as the pension, the eligibility service length will be 25 years.
