NPS workers show support for the Sukhvinder Sukhu government after the disastrous Rajya Sabha election

Following recent political developments in the state, where six elected Congress MLAs voted for BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan in the state assembly, the New Pension Scheme (NPS) Employees Association has expressed support for the state government and Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. This puts the government in jeopardy.

Speaking to reporters at this location today, the association’s state president, Pradeep Thakur, declared: “We will always support CM Sukhu and the state government.” In order to provide state government workers with financial stability in their latter years after retirement, he reinstated the previous pension plan.

He continued by saying that the reinstatement of the old pension was a major problem for the state and that the Chief Minister had the courage to make the difficult choice that resulted in the restoration of OPS for 1.36 lakh workers.

According to Thakur, the state government and its staff owed the central government Rs 9,000 crore upon the OPS’s reinstatement. He said that the state government should get this money back and that their group has just addressed the prime minister’s memos requesting the same from every district. But as of yet, Thakur added, the Center has not responded.

He continued by saying that the state’s workers would need to start a larger action to demand their rights if the Center did not refund the money.

In addition, Thakur thanked Sukhu for the budget’s pronouncements, which included raises in employee arrears, DA, and other amounts. He said that the group will launch a “Thanks for OPS” campaign at the state level in order to express gratitude to the state government for restoring the old pension.

The state government had “restored their honor” and “secured them financially,” for which they would always be grateful to Chief Minister Sukhu and his colleagues, according to retired employee Kanhaiya Lal Saini and pensioner Chint Ram Shastri, who was the first to receive the OPS after its restoration in Himachal.

“The state administration seeks to enact a statute in the state assembly providing legal protection for OPS restoration. The government’s effort is praiseworthy, Shastri said.

This time, in attendance were the state secretary of the association, Naseeb Singh, the presidents of the Sadar and Padhar blocks, Rajneesh Thakur, and Kashmir Singh.