Chandigarh, September 16
Punjab Vidhan Sabha Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa on Wednesday accused the Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government of betraying the state’s government employees by replacing its pre-election promise of restoring the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) with a contributory pension arrangement.
Bajwa said the latest decision to grant another four-month extension to the committee examining the pension framework exposes the AAP government’s continued delaying tactics and its failure to honour the commitment it made to government employees before the 2022 Assembly elections.
He said the government is now considering a so-called ‘guaranteed pension’ model that retains the contributory nature of the existing arrangement, with employees continuing to make a mandatory contribution towards their pension.
“After making a clear promise of restoring the Old Pension Scheme to secure the votes of Punjab’s government employees, the AAP government is now trying to replace that commitment with a contributory pension scheme. This is a betrayal of the employees who trusted its word,” Bajwa said.
Bajwa recalled that ahead of the 2022 Assembly elections, AAP had made an explicit political commitment to restore the traditional, non-contributory OPS. In August 2021, then AAP Punjab Leader of Opposition and now Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema had publicly stated that AAP would include the restoration of OPS in its election manifesto and fulfil the promise if voted to power.
“The AAP did not make a vague or conditional assurance. Its senior leaders, including Harpal Singh Cheema, publicly promised Punjab’s employees that OPS would be restored. After coming to power, the government itself announced an in-principle decision to restore OPS and subsequently issued a notification. Yet, nearly four years later, employees are still being asked to wait while the government keeps changing the framework and extending committees,” Bajwa said.
Bajwa said the proposed ‘guaranteed pension’ scheme cannot be equated with the OPS promised by AAP, particularly when employees would continue to make a mandatory contribution.
“Changing the name does not change the nature of the scheme. If employees are still required to contribute 10 per cent of their salary, the AAP government must explain how this is the Old Pension Scheme it promised. Punjab’s employees were promised OPS, not a modified contributory arrangement wrapped in a new label,” Bajwa asserted.
He said the latest four-month extension was particularly revealing because the AAP government had already had almost its entire tenure to resolve the issue.
“How many more committees, studies and extensions does the AAP government need? Employees have waited long enough. The government has had years to implement the promise it made to them, yet whenever the time comes to deliver, it creates another committee and seeks more time. This is nothing but deliberate delay,” Bajwa said.
Questioning the government’s intentions, Bajwa said the timing of the extension raises serious questions about whether the AAP government is deliberately postponing a decision until the election process begins.
“Punjab is heading towards the 2027 Assembly elections. Instead of fulfilling its promise before the end of its tenure, the AAP government is buying time through committees and extensions. The employees of Punjab should not be treated as an electoral vote bank that can be misled with announcements and new terminology,” he said.
Bajwa said the government could not claim credit for restoring OPS while simultaneously proposing a contributory pension model.
“The AAP government cannot have it both ways. Either it should implement the Old Pension Scheme it promised, or it should honestly admit to Punjab’s employees that it has abandoned its original commitment. Renaming a contributory pension scheme as ‘guaranteed pension’ does not absolve the government of its responsibility,” Bajwa said.
Bajwa demanded that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema make their position clear and explain why the government has failed to deliver the OPS promised to employees.
“Bhagwant Mann and Harpal Singh Cheema owe Punjab’s employees a straightforward answer: Will they implement the OPS they promised, or will they replace it with a contributory pension scheme? Employees deserve transparency and accountability, not another committee, another extension and another repackaged promise,” Bajwa said.