Congress will reinstate old pension scheme in Gujarat if elected: Rahul Gandhi

The Congress is slowly upping the ante in Gujarat ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections with top leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday promising that the party will provide fixed jobs for contractual workers and return to the Old Pension Scheme.

Rahul made the promises through a tweet in Hindi, amid demands from the Gujarat Congress that he should take short breaks from the Bharat Jodo Yatra to campaign in the state. In 2017, Rahul had extensively campaigned, but this time, he is engaged in the yatra full time though two days before its launch, he had addressed booth workers in Ahmedabad on September 5.

"It is the Congress' firm promise – fixed jobs for contractual workers, bringing back the old pension scheme and timely promotions. Implemented it in Rajasthan, now employees will get their due as soon as Congress government is formed in Gujarat," he said with a hashtag "Congress degi pakki naukri' (Congress will surely provide jobs).

The Election Commission of India (ECI) is expected to announce the schedule for the Gujarat Assembly elections later this week. With the counting of votes for Himachal Pradesh set for December 8, the ECI is likely to conclude Gujarat polling around December 5 and go in for counting along with the hill-state.

The promise to return to the Old Pension Scheme has been made in Himachal too. Congress has found that the issue has huge resonance among the government employees, who are a substantial number among voters.

Earlier this month, Congress had exuded confidence that it will overthrow the BJP government in Gujarat in the upcoming elections, riding on its silent door-to-door campaigning and an effective booth management put in place for the first time in years. However, it warned that the AAP and AIMIM were B-teams of the BJP aiming to cut Congress votes and enable the saffron party’s continuance in the government.

The Congress had also expressed confidence that it would win more than 125 (out of 182) seats and form the government.

The party is organising ‘Adivasi Sammelans’ in the tribal belt of the state. On October 31, the occasion of Indira Gandhi’s death anniversary and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s birth anniversary, Congress Gujarat president Jagdish Thakor said that the party would organise five rallies. There will also be six-day, eight-day yatras in parts of Gujarat.