Haryana Oppn. alleges cut in no. of old age pension scheme beneficiaries

Politics over the ‘Old Age Samman Allowance Scheme’ in Haryana has heated up with the Opposition parties accusing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party government of cutting the number of beneficiaries under the scheme in a “well-planned manner”, terming it “attack on the rights and the dignity of the elderly” in the State.

In a battle of political one-upmanship, both the Congress and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) have announced to hold mass protest demonstrations in Sonipat and Panchkula respectively later this month.

As per the latest figures, 20,05,367 beneficiaries – 10,44,069 men and 9,61,298 women – were paid the monthly ₹3,000 pension in February this year.

‘No one removed’

Rubbishing the allegations of the Opposition as “baseless” and “an attempt to regain the lost political ground”, Haryana BJP media in-charge Arvind said the old age pension in Haryana was more than in neighbouring Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, ruled by the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress respectively. “Most importantly, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has stated that no one’s pension has been cut,” he asserted.

INLD national president Abhay Chautala claimed that names of more than 75,000 pensioners across the State had been cut. In a video message, he accused the Chief Minister of lying on the issue and gave a call for a State-level protest in Panchkula on February 20. Mr. Chautala also directed the party’s workers and office-bearers to record the videos of those whose pension had been cut and send it directly to the Chief Minister to nail his “lie”.

“[Party founder] Chaudhary Devi Lal had started an old age pension of ₹100 without any conditions, which is equivalent to ₹15,000 today. The Congress party, while in power, tried to cut pensions by imposing certain conditions, but the INLD fought for the respect of the elderly then,” Mr. Chautala said, also accusing the BJP government of not increasing the pension by ₹200 as promised.

Protests planned

Announcing a major protest in Sonipat on February 15, Congress’s Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda said old age pension is not charity. “After the elections, the BJP first cut the ration cards of the poor, and now they are cutting the pensions of the elderly,” he said.

Accusing the BJP of a hatching a conspiracy to dismantle “an excellent and long-standing social welfare scheme”, former Deputy CM and Jannayak Janta Party leader Dushyant Chautala said even if there were minor errors in someone’s documents, the government should rectify them by visiting their homes instead of cutting their pensions.

Rich legacy

The old age pension scheme was initially started on April 1, 1964 in undivided Punjab, of which Haryana was a part. The rate of pension, which was ₹15 per month, was increased from time to time. The Haryana government implemented this scheme on November 1, 1966 after its creation and 2,382 beneficiaries were paid the pensions. The old age pension scheme was expanded in 1987 at ₹100 per month for those aged 65 years or more. The State government further enhanced the scheme and introduced ‘Old Age Pension Scheme-1991’, now renamed as Old Age Samman Allowance Scheme. It was implemented from July 1y, 1991 and the age of eligibility was reduced from 65 to 60 years.