Just as Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has sought a discussion on the future of the National Pension Scheme (NPS) and return to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), leaders from the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) on Wednesday visited Freedom Park where employees who are under the NPS are on a dharna.
While State government employees who are under the NPS have started a dharna here, demanding a return to the OPS, the two Opposition parties have also urged the government to be considerate to their demand following which Mr. Bommai has sought discussion before taking any decision.
On Wednesday, JD(S) MLC S.L. Bhoje Gowda, and senior Congress leaders H.M. Revanna and V.S. Ugrappa visited the dharna site and promised to take up the issue in the ongoing winter session of the legislature in Belagavi. They said they had understood the problems and demands of the employees, which would be raised in the legislature.
The NPS employees, who have been fighting for several years now, have connected the issue to the Assembly elections, and have asked political parties to express their stand. The demand has gained traction following the scrapping of the NPS in the Opposition-ruled States of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Punjab while the Congress has taken a stand against the NPS in Himachal Pradesh.
