People's power has prevailed, says Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on UPS

A day after the Union Cabinet approved a new Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) for central government employees, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge indicated support for the move as he said the power of the people had "prevailed".

Kharge took to microblogging site X to take a swipe at the BJP-led government, which has been going back on major decisions since it came back to power a third time in June. "The 'U' in UPS stands for Modi Govt's U turns! Post June 4, the power of the people has prevailed over the arrogance of power of the prime minister. Rollback in the Budget regarding long term capital gain/indexation. Sending Waqf Bill to JPC. Rollback of Broadcast Bill. Rollback of Lateral Entry. We will keep ensuring accountability and protect 140 crore Indians from this despotic government!"

Congress leader Praveen Chakravarty was more upfront and called the move "prudent and welcome". He posted on X, "Pension for govt staff in India is inherently a tax on the majority poor to pay the elite minority. So, OPS was reformed to NPS in 2013. But NPS did not assure a minimum amount for retired families. Now, UPS does that. UPS = NPS + Min guarantee. This is prudent & welcome."