No promise of OPS like Congress, direct UPS benefit... BJP played a masterstroke in pension politics

Unified Pension Scheme: The Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) has been announced for government employees. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav may have denied that it was a political decision, but the ruling BJP is hoping to woo an angry vote bank with this. A section of government employees had leaned towards Congress due to the promise of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). The government cadre has been an important vote bank of the saffron party, but it remained angry with the BJP in the recent elections.

The edge of Congress's weapon has been blunted

The demand for reinstatement of OPS was used by Congress as a political missile to defeat the BJP. This move proved to be effective for Congress in Himachal Pradesh, where government employees have traditionally dominated. BJP did not suffer much loss due to this in Madhya Pradesh. There it won big in both Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.

Even though the issue of pension of government employees was not very strong in the Lok Sabha elections, its echo did reach the ears of the party from time to time. Political analysts were assuming that after the recent results, BJP may have to face political loss due to OPS in the upcoming elections.

After nearly 18 months of consultations, it was decided to implement the Unified Pension Scheme. The BJP-led NDA government has taken this decision at a time when assembly elections are due in Haryana, Jammu, and Kashmir. Elections are also proposed in Maharashtra and Jharkhand this year.

did not apply after the victory

Congress had raised the flag of OPS in the assembly elections, but after losing in Rajasthan, MP, and Chhattisgarh, it gave up. The party did not even mention OPS in the manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections 2024. When Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav was talking about the cabinet decision on UPS, he also took a dig at the Congress about this.

Vaishnav explained how the Congress made it a big election issue in Himachal and Rajasthan, but the party never implemented OPS. Vaishnav said, 'Congress has always been insensitive towards employees, which is reflected in Himachal and Rajasthan. The party made promises in both the states, but failed to implement OPS... Their politics of creating confusion has been exposed once again.'

According to the Union minister, UPS is a well-thought-out scheme under Prime Minister Narendra Modi as it is fully state-funded and promises inter-generational equity. "Moreover, funds will be provided as per the present need, nothing will be left for the future, as the Congress did in Himachal and Rajasthan," the minister said.