NPS vs OPS debate rocks Karnataka Legislative Council

The ruling BJP only faced the wrath of members across parties, including two of its own who walked out of the Legislative Council on Thursday demanding the scrapping of the National Pension Scheme (NPS).

BJP MLCs Ayanur Manjunath and SV Sankanur walked out with JD(S) member Marithibbe Gowda.

The NPS issue was raised during question hour by BJP's Talwar Sabanna, who asked the government to take a correct stand on demands seeking the replacement of NPS with the old pension scheme (OPS).

Sabanna, along with three MLCs, raised this issue in the wake of ongoing protests at Freedom Park in Bengaluru by government employees who are against NPS. There are 2.97 lakh staff who come under the NPS.

Law & Parliamentary Affairs Minister JC Madhuswamy said Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai would consider the plea of the agitating employees “based on the financial situation of the state”.

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He added that the pension policy was changed by the union government in 2004, following which NPS was introduced in the state from 2006.

“Under the OPS, there was a huge financial burden of salaries and pensions. The salary outgo exceeded Rs 90,000 crore, while it was Rs 20,000-24,000 crore for pensions. Therefore, we opted for NPS. The state government had informed in advance about NPS to all those who were recruited post 2006. They can't demand OPS now," Madhuswamy said.

Irked over this response, members across parties strongly argued that NPS was on par with the OPS, as current pensions were inadequate for many retired government employees.

Highlighting the plight of government employees, Sankanur said that a teacher who was expected to receive Rs 50,000 as a pension under OPS was receiving only Rs 9,000 under NPS. “How can these employees lead their lives respectfully post retirement?” he said.

Manjunath opposed the differential standards employed to provide pensions to staff and elected representatives. “If NPS was introduced after 2006, why do MLAs and MLCs elected after that year come under OPS? When people who have elected us are under NPS, why do we have OPS? Introduce NPS for us, too,” he said.