The Congress’ ‘enthusiasm’ over the introduction of the Unified Pension Scheme – an initiative they have labelled as a rollback of the BJP-led government’s policies – has elicited a fresh critique from the BJP. The party MP Ravi Shankar Prasad questioned when Congress will fulfil its election promises, especially regarding the pension scheme.

“I want to ask Rahul Gandhi – has his government implemented the Old Pension Scheme as promised in Himachal Pradesh?” stated Prasad, a former Union minister who handled the law portfolio.

“The Congress party has become so wary of the glaring falsehood of its pension assurances that it lacked the courage to include it in its manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections,” the former minister said.

“Governing India is a serious business. The Congress party merely makes announcements to attract votes, and now the public has lost trust in its promises,” he added.

Ravi Shankar Prasad further questioned Rahul Gandhi: “Has your government in Himachal Pradesh implemented the old pension scheme? In the Karnataka elections, you cleverly stated that it would be implemented for employees before 2006. Rahul Gandhi keeps deceiving the public. He should do what he says. If he does nothing, he should not make promises.”

The Unified Pension Scheme retains many aspects of the pre-2004 Old Pension Scheme, offering government employees a lifelong monthly benefit equivalent to 50 per cent of their last drawn basic pay.

In contrast, the New Pension Scheme, introduced by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 2004, linked pension payouts to contributions made by both the government and employees. At that time, several Opposition states opposed this scheme, and five states chose to continue with the Old Pension Scheme.

The Unified Pension Scheme, set to take effect from April 2025, will be a contributory scheme. Employees will be required to contribute 10 per cent of their salary, while the government will contribute 18.5 per cent, with the possibility of the government’s contribution increasing.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge had earlier criticised the BJP by saying that the “U” in the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) stands for “U-turn,” a term he claimed was becoming a hallmark of the third term of the BJP-led government.