Dinesh Agarwal
Shimla: BJP spokesperson Sandeepani Bhardwaj launched a sharp attack on Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu over his recent remarks on pensioners, alleging that the Congress government has been giving false assurances for the past three years while failing to clear pending dues.
Bhardwaj said the Chief Minister repeatedly claims that all pending medical bills will be cleared within a month, yet thousands of pensioners have been running from pillar to post for three years to receive reimbursements. Had the government been truly sensitive, he said, pensioners would not have been forced to take to the streets.
He pointed to the protest rally organised by pensioners on 28 November in Dharamshala during the Assembly session, calling it clear evidence of the Congress government's neglect.
He further alleged that the government misled employees and pensioners over the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) and is now unable to meet even basic financial obligations due to its own fiscal crisis.
Rejecting the Chief Minister’s accusations of financial mismanagement during the previous BJP government, Bhardwaj said the Congress was trying to divert attention from its failures. He asserted that under the BJP government, employees never had to protest for pensions, salaries or medical bill payments.
Bhardwaj warned that if the Congress government does not clear all pending dues of pensioners soon, the BJP will join pensioners in launching a statewide agitation.