Taking strong objection to the move to allow private and foreign firms to manage pension funds, the Left parties on Sunday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to put the decision on hold.
A letter written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by Left parties said: “We request you to put on hold, the process of appointing pension fund managers initiated by the Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority (PFRDA). Instead, the funds may be placed with the employees provident fund organisation till a final decision is taken on the new pension scheme”.
Pointing out that the Left parties, which extend crucial support to the Congress-led government, had expressed their differences over the move, the letter said: “It is surprising that the PFRDA has proceeded to operationalise the pension scheme”. “In the name of an interim step, some of the objectionable features of the bill are going to be put in place. We wish to register our strong disapproval of this move,” it said.
The interim PFRDA had put out an invitation for expressions of interest for sponsoring a pension fund under the new pension scheme.
In the letter, the leaders said the PFRDA bill had been pending before Parliament as the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and the Left parties could not sort out the differences over it despite several rounds of discussions.
The letter signed by CPM general secretary Prakash Karat, CPI leader A B Bardhan, Forward Bloc leader Debabrata Biswas and RSP leader Abani Roy said that they had failed to understand how the finance minister could clear this step, when he was fully aware of their strong and continuing objections.