Congress to implement old pension scheme if it forms govt in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh: Ashok Gehlot

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday said the Congress will implement the old pension scheme for government employees if it comes to power in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh in the upcoming Assembly polls. "The implementation of the new pension scheme for government employees appointed after January 1, 2004 created a sense of insecurity and uncertainty about their future," Gehlot said in a statement.

His government in Rajasthan decided to reintroduce the old scheme purely on humanitarian grounds, he said. After that, the governments of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand have also decided to restore it, he said.

"The old pension scheme will be implemented for all government employees in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh after the formation of Congress government there," he said referring to the Assembly elections that are scheduled to be held at the end of this year in the two states.


He requested governments of other states to implement the old pension scheme and requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi for it.

"I would like to say again that this is a very appropriate decision from the humanitarian point of view," he added.

Gehlot had announced to revive the old pension scheme for state employees during the state budget presented in February. More than three lakh state government employees will be benefitted by the decision.