The Congress in Karnataka is likely to follow in the footsteps of party governments in Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh by announcing a return to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for government employees, in the event of the party being elected to power in the 2023 Assembly elections. Although there has been no formal announcement or election promise of a return to the OPS as yet, several feelers have been given by party leaders in the past few weeks - including an assurance by state Congress chief D K Shivakumar that he was on the side of government employees, during a protest held in December in Bengaluru for the OPS. "Our Delhi leaders have given us some essential advice. We have collective leadership. We will hold discussions and make an announcement. We will stand with you,'' Shivakumar had said, adding that they would hold consultations with the Congress leadership in Rajasthan, where the OPS has been brought back. "We are looking at how we can overcome the economic effect of a change in policy. We are talking to officials,'' he had said. The chairman of the Congress campaign committee in Karnataka, M B Patil, has also said that the party will implement the OPS if voted to power. Congress leaders privy to the discussions said the OPS would be reintroduced in some form, while keeping the overall financial burden and economic interests of the state in mind. During the introduction of the New Pension Scheme in 2006, a statement by the Finance Department had noted: "The average annual growth rate of pension payments over the past 40 years has been as high as 21 per cent, which indicates that the pension liability is increasing significantly." The pension cost of Rs 2,157 crore in Karnataka in 2004-05 was 8.2% of the revenue receipt of Rs 26,162 crore, and the actual pension cost of Rs 19,216 crore in 2022 was 10% of the revenue receipts of Rs 1.95 lakh crore, according to data from CAG audit reports for Karnataka finances. The pension cost increased by 2% in 2021-22 over the cost in the 2020-21 fiscal year. State employees constitute about 1 per cent of the state's voters. "Rightly or wrongly, it was declared ahead of the Himachal Pradesh polls that the Congress would revert to the OPS. The Congress victory in Himachal has been attributed to this promise by some people. Similarly in Rajasthan, the government has announced a return to the OPS. This is why the party leadership is inclined towards bringing back the OPS, with some amendments,'' a senior state Congress leader said. The Congress is likely to make a briefly-worded promise regarding the same in its Karnataka election manifesto. The nitty-gritty of setting up an expert committee to work out the form and structure of the scheme will be decided once the party is elected to power, the leader said." The party hasn't yet decided upon the OPS for Karnataka, but since it has been implemented in other Congress-ruled states, there can't be a different stand in Karnataka." At the protest rally held in December by government employees, Shivakumar had stated that the issue was being discussed at the highest level in the party. "We have discussed this with our party president Mallikarjun Kharge and state leaders like (former CM) Siddaramaiah and (Congress manifesto committee head) G Parameshwara. In the discussion, we spoke about your protests and the decisions taken by the Rajasthan and Himachal governments. Kharge has told Siddaramaiah to make all preparations on this issue,'' Shivakumar had said. "Many of you have been protesting since 2004. You have a right to protest. The government is looking at the pension scheme with a business mindset. There is no rule that says the policies of previous governments must not be changed. The government needs funds and must collect revenues and work to create an equitable society. As politicians, we must adopt a policy of live and let live. This is the policy of the Congress party,'' Shivakumar had said. The issue of reverting to the OPS was raised in the Karnataka legislature as well in December by Opposition members. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had called for more debate on the issue before arriving at any conclusion. "The government should not take any unilateral decision since we will all be responsible for the impact on the public,'' Bommai had told the Assembly. "We have to keep the future position of the state exchequer in mind. We have to consider many things."
