Government staff from over 50 departments in Punjab will take out protest march in bypoll-bound Ludhiana West on Thursday demanding the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for more than 2 lakh employees recruited after the implementation of the National Pension Scheme (NPS) on January 1, 2004. The protest, named flag march, has been called by Purani Pension Bahali Sangharsh Committee (PPBSC) and the Central Provident Fund Employees Union (CPFEU) "to expose the unfulfilled promises of the AAP government, even after more than three years in power”. Sukhjeet Singh, convenor of the Punjab unit of CPFEU, said, “Before coming to power, AAP had assured NPS employees that OPS would be restored within six months of forming the government. However, even after three-and-a-half years, the employees have received nothing beyond an incomplete notification”. PPBSC convener Jasvir Singh Talwara accused the government of spending crores of rupees on "hollow advertising” campaigns, while failing to allocate funds for restoring OPS. “This has led to widespread anger and resentment among more than two lakh government employees in the state,” he said, adding that extensive preparations have been made to bring this issue to the public’s attention through the march. Sources said that senior officials as well the ruling party leaders have allegedly advised employees not to gather in large numbers in the poll-bound constituency. Talwara, however, asked, “When political parties can organise roadshows, why can't we protest against the false promises made by the government? We are being approached by authorities not to bring in more than five vehicles. Our appeal to the voters of Ludhiana West is to vote for anyone but the AAP. It is time to teach this arrogant government a lesson.” The Ludhiana West bypoll was necessitated following the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Gogi Bassi. The candidates in fray included Rajya Sabha member Sanjeev Arora (AAP), Bharat Bhushan Ashu (Congress), Parupkar Singh Ghuman (Shiromani Akali Dal), and Jiwan Gupta (Bharatiya Janata Party). Talwara said, “The AAP already has 93 MLAs in 117-member Assembly. Winning one more seat will not change much for them, but a loss on this seat will send a strong message that they must take employee, farmer, industry, and public issues seriously.” Ajitpal Singh Jassowal, a PPBSC member, said they are mobilising a large number of vehicles and cadres, with duties assigned at the block level. “During the march, employees will also distribute posters highlighting the AAP government's betrayal and breach of trust. These are meant to educate voters and encourage them to make an informed choice,” he said. The AAP had promised the implementation of OPS in its 2022 Punjab election manifesto. Later, ahead of the Himachal Pradesh elections in October 2022, employee unions in Punjab threatened to protest at the Ridge in Shimla to expose the non-implementation of OPS by the AAP government in Punjab. To pacify the protesters, the Punjab government had then announced that the OPS will be implemented soon. A formal notification followed on November 18, 2022, shortly before Punjab employee unions planned a four-day protest in Gujarat, also a poll-bound state then, to expose the AAP’s inaction. Both protests were postponed after this, but as of now, OPS still has not been implemented. “Unlike Himachal Pradesh, where OPS was implemented after the Congress government came to power in December 2022, Punjab continues to ‘study the possibilities’,” said Talwara. “Now, they are asking us to switch to the unified pension scheme, but our demand is for full implementation of OPS.” Sukhjeet explained the technical differences between the two pension schemes. “Under OPS, employees used to contribute to the General Provident Fund (GPF) up to 50 per cent of their salary, with a minimum of Rs 2,000 per month. This money was retained by the state government, and the scheme provided a fixed, lifelong monthly pension — 50 per cent of the last drawn salary—adjusted for inflation through dearness allowance (DA).”
