Assam's economy will collapse if OPS is restored, says CM Himanta

During the assembly session on Monday, Akhil Gogoi raised a question on whether all Assam government employees will get the benefits of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). To which Assam CM Himanta Sarma replied, “If the OPS replaces the New Pension Scheme (NPS), the government will go bankrupt.”

Akhil Gogoi also mentioned a few examples of teachers who are not getting enough pensions. To this end, the Chief Minister said that Akhil Gogoi has collected some misinformation and explained why these teachers are getting less pension in his reply. 

According to the Chief Minister, there are about 4 lakh employees in the state, 1,75,998 employees under the old pension scheme and 2,85,000 under the new pension scheme. Out of these, 1 lakh and 50 thousand got jobs during the BJP days.

The Chief Minister said, "These employees are not protesting against the NPS. Central government employees have not protested against the NPS. The employees, who are so young, have never protested against the NPS. Central government employees have never protested against NPS-OPS.”

He also clarified Assam’s BJP government’s stand on the pension issue. He said that the government has already informed the Union finance minister’s committee that the Assam government is in favour of an assured pension scheme, irrespective of OPS or NPS. 

Dissatisfied with the chief minister's reply, the opposition left the assembly and demonstrated outside the building with signs that said, "OPS is needed, NPS is not needed."