Demanding discussion on OPS, Oppn. stages walk out from the assembly 

The opposition Congress staged protest in the well of house for not allowing to raise adjournment motion on the issue of Old pension System and latter walkout during the question hours from the assembly on Saturday . Congress member Asha Kumari said that speaker should allow them to raise the issue of the OPS as notice was given under rule – 67 to speaker. Speaker however rejected adjournment motion informing the members that matter stating that during motion of no confidence motion under rule 228 in the house. This agitated the Congress party members started sloganeering when the speaker asked to start the question hours, all the Congress MLAs came down on the Well of house and staged protest. The question hour continued when all the members of Congress walked out from the house. After the Congress members left the house speaker allowed the Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and Parliamentary affairs minister Suresh Bhardwaj to speak on the issue of the OPS. The Chief Minister said that Congress members were not serious on the last day of Monsoon session which is also the last day of the 13 State Legislative assembly. He said that the Virbhadra Singh government implemented the New Pension System and the PF funds invested in the share market by the Congress rule could not be refunded to the state again.He said that Congress cheated the employees and now they are playing politics on the issue. He said that Congress rule lasted for ten years but they never protested on the issue. He said that Congress should have staged a protest on the issue of OPS when its government was in power. The Chief Minister said that despite the Covid pandemic salaries of employees and pensioners pensions were never delayed for a single day. He said that the state government was spending about Rs 911 Cr to benefit NPS employees to deposit state share in the provident fund. The five thousand employees benefited from the enhanced salaries and allowances of NPS employees by the government. State Government also started Rs 250 Crore invialid and family pensions to NPs employees. Supporting the decisions of NPS, the Chief Minister said that the former chief minister Virbhadra Singh would not allow the Congress to walkout from the house or protest on NPS if he would alive today. The chief minister said that Himachal Pradesh is not the only state to implement the NPS as 96 Lakh employees in the country are covered under the NPS.  However he said that like the state of West Bengal, Congress last Congress should not have opted for the NPS