NAGPUR: Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole raised the issue of the old pension scheme for the second time in the session through the adjournment motion on Tuesday.
Warning the Mahayuti government that the administration would collapse totally if over 20 lakh government employees went on the strike for their demands, the Sakoli MLA demanded that the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP (Ajit Pawar) coalition must make its stand clear on the issue.
Asking the CM Eknath Shinde-led government to seriously take their demands, the former assembly speaker said the employees had organized a massive morcha at Vidhan Bhavan on Tuesday and employees from across the state had joined them. “If they decided to observe a strike, the administration would face immense difficulties, particularly in the healthcare sector. The government hospitals may witness deaths of serious patients while others, including children will suffer. They have arrived in large numbers blocking the entire roads in Nagpur and affecting the traffic. The government must hold discussions with them to know about their grievances,” he said.
Replying to the issue in legislative council, later deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the report regarding the old scheme was received recently. “we will discuss it with various organizations. This issue would actually crop up only after 2032. The common public would suffer if the employees resorted to strike. The government’s suffering is comparatively less. Since the government is positive on their demands, I will appeal to the employees not to stop the work for the old pension demand,” he said.
