Despite financial crisis, Congress government in Himachal gave old pension to 1.36 lakh employees: Sukhvinder Singh

SHIMLA: Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that despite the financial crunch, the Congress government has given an old pension scheme (OPS) to 1.36 lakh government employees. He said that in the very first cabinet meeting, he fulfilled his election promise and secured the future of lakhs of government employees by restoring the OPS and today over 4,000 employees are taking benefit of the OPS.

He said that Rs 9000 crore of NPS contribution is still stuck with the Central Government and the State is fighting to get it back. He said that the state government has also given a four percent dearness allowance to the government employees.

Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said this while addressing an election meeting for Congress candidate from Shimla Lok Sabha seat in Nalagarh of Solan district on Saturday. Attacking the BJP, he said that when the BJP was not successful in forming the government with the public votes, an attempt was made to capture it on the basis of money, but the plans of the BJP could not be fulfilled. He said that the Congress government is completely stable and will definitely complete its five-year term. He said that Jai Ram Thakur is daydreaming of becoming the Chief Minister, which will never be fulfilled.

Targeting the rebel MLAs on illegal mining issues, Sukhu said that those who fill their homes by digging rivers and rivulets can never be public servants. He said that BJP MP Suresh Kashyap did not contribute anything to the development of the area. He said that when the disaster struck, Kashyap did not even write a letter to any Union Minister to provide financial help to Himachal Pradesh.

He said that no BJP MP went to the Union Ministers to ask for financial help from the Central Government. Whereas the state government changed the law for 22,000 families affected by the disaster and gave a package of Rs 4000 crore from its own resources, he said. He said that now BJP candidates are asking for votes in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi instead of their work.

He said that the state government has given a big relief to 1.60 lakh truck operators by waiving off the penalty and interest on passenger and goods tax. He said that these goods carrier operators had to suffer losses during the Corona period, in view of which the state government adopted a humanitarian approach.

He said that the state government has earned additional income of Rs 850 crore from the auction of liquor contracts. He said in the previous BJP government, jobs kept being sold and Jai Ram Thakur kept sleeping. But after assuming power, his government took tough decisions and dissolved the Hamirpur Subordinate Staff Selection Commission, which had become a den of corruption.