Jaipur, Jul 11 (PTI) Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot Monday said his government has decided to restore the Old Pension Scheme from a humanitarian point of view and there is no politics involved.
He said the decision was taken after much thinking, and appealed to the Central government also to consider extending the benefit to its employees.
“If I talk about OPS, it is a historic decision,” Gehlot told programme here. “Union Home Minister Amit Shah was in Jaipur on Saturday and I urged him that the Centre should also consider implementing OPS.” He said the state government has not taken the decision to implement OPS in a hurry but after much deliberation.
“It has been decided after a lot of thought. Chhattisgarh has also announced to implement the OPS. Discussions are going on in other states. Committees have been formed at many places. I think the central government should come forward (to re-implement it),” he said.
Gehlot had announced to restore the OPS for state employees in the budget speech of 2022-23.
Gehlot said, “We have implemented OPS from a humanitarian point of view and there is no politics in it. Politics happens automatically, if you do good work.” He said the Centre should adopt a positive attitude towards this scheme in the spirit of federalism.
Meanwhile, he also expressed concern over the reduction in the Centre’s share in centrally sponsored schemes.
Gehlot said that education and health will remain the priority areas of the state government.
Under the OPS, government employees appointed on and after January 1, 2004 will be eligible for pension benefits and cashless medical facility under the Rajasthan Government Health Scheme (RGHS).PTI AG TIR
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