Rajasthan: Govt employees laud decision to stop 10 per cent deduction under NPS

Ever since the Rajasthan government in its budget this year announced that the OPS will be brought back, Chhattisgarh-also ruled by the Congress- has also followed suit, making similar announcements.

As per the Rajasthan government, after the 10 per cent monthly deduction under the NPS is discontinued from next month, the state government employees will see an increase in their monthly salaries, ranging from Rs. 2,300 to Rs. 10,000 according to their seniority.

Chief Minister Gehlot has also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to restore the OPS throughout the country.

“The announcement that the monthly deduction under the NPS will be discontinued from next month has increased the trust of the state government employees, giving us a signal that the government is indeed committed to its pledge of bringing back the OPS and this is the first step towards it. In future, if any government tries to reverse the decision to bring back OPS, it will suffer politically and will have to face the ire of government employees. The Chief Minister acknowledges that he has taken lessons from employees’ strikes in the past,” said Raj Singh Choudhary, state president, Rajasthan State Ministerial Employees’ Federation.

Gehlot’s announcement in this year’s budget to bring back the OPS is seen in the political circles as a move to woo state government employees before the Assembly elections next year.

The Chief Minister has said several times in public that one of the reasons his government was voted out during his first term between 1998-2003 was a massive employees’ protest spanning more than two months.