AAP will implement Old Pension Scheme if elected in Gujarat: Arvind Kejriwal

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, who is campaigning in Gujarat, has promised to restore the old pension scheme which was discontinued on April 1, 2004, and replaced with the National Pension Scheme (NPS), if the party is voted to power in Gujarat.

Kejriwal, who was heckled at the Vadodara airport with shouts of ‘Modi, Modi’, said: “Government employees in Gujarat have taken to the streets in large numbers. Their main demand is the implementation of the old pension scheme. I guarantee them that when AAP forms a government, we will implement the OPS in Gujarat.”

Under the old scheme, employees used to get dearness allowance-linked pension. Under this scheme, the pensioners used to get the benefit of enhanced pension every six months due to the periodic hikes in dearness relief. Talking of how he was heckled at the airport, Kejriwal said: “When I landed at the Vadodara airport, some 30-40 people shouted, ‘Modi’, ‘Modi’, in front of me... It is said that BJP never lost in 66 seats in Gujarat. This time, they will face problems in these 66 seats and won’t win many of these seats.”


He alleged AAP had to change the venue of his programme in Vadodara 13 times as every time any place was booked, the people called up the owners and intimidated them. “Kejriwal’s programme should not happen. AAP’s programme should not take place; these are not good for democracy,” he said.

Reacting to a letter written by some retired bureaucrats to the EC seeking the de-recognition of AAP, he asked the former bureaucrats to raise the issue of corruption in Gujarat instead. On the incident at the Chandigarh University, Kejriwal said that while the incident has been very unfortunate, the guilty have been apprehended and they would be punished adequately.