Pension row set to storm budget session of Haryana Assembly

The controversy over old-age pension is set to dominate the upcoming Budget session of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha beginning February 20, with the Opposition preparing to corner the government inside the House.The issue has triggered a sharp political confrontation between the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress and INLD, with both sides digging in their heels despite the government’s recent corrective measures.The Nayab Singh Saini government has restored pensions of nearly one lakh “suspicious” beneficiaries and enhanced the monthly pension by Rs 200, taking it to Rs 3,200 for around 21.5 lakh beneficiaries. However, the Opposition is unwilling to let the matter rest.The Congress and the INLD have accused the government of “humiliating” senior citizens whose pensions were allegedly stopped for nearly two months. Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda recently led a protest in Sonepat, while local Congress units have continued demonstrations across districts. The party has now decided to raise the issue in the Assembly.“There is a contradiction in the Chief Minister’s statements. A few days ago, he was insisting that nobody’s pension has been cut only to retract this statement and maintain that it has been restored. The government cannot be let off on a matter that concerns our senior citizens. We will raise it in the House and seek details. We will speak for the beneficiaries who suffered,” Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda said.The INLD, which had announced a protest in Panchkula on the opening day of the session, called off the agitation after pensions were restored and enhanced. However, it too plans to press the issue in the Assembly.“We called off the protest since the government restored the pension and even increased it by Rs 200 per month. However, this is certainly not enough. Our MLAs will demand a detailed list of the names of beneficiaries dropped on account of deaths. Also, we will bring a calling attention on the subject if need be. The government should be made answerable for humiliating the senior citizens who are getting pensionary benefits. Restoring the names is not enough,” Abhay Singh Chautala, national president of the INLD, said.AAP leader Anurag Dhanda alleged that the government was offering “illogical” and unreasonable explanations for discontinuing pensions. He claimed that income from sale of crops was being counted towards the income ceiling, pushing many farmers above the prescribed limit and rendering them ineligible for pension benefits.Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, meanwhile, has dismissed the allegations as “misleading and baseless” and sought to clarify the government’s position.“Out of the two lakh cases cited by the Opposition, more than 1.03 lakh cases pertain to beneficiaries who had already passed away. Due to a technical issue on the Registrar General of India portal, data regarding deaths in Haryana was not available from October 2024 onwards. This was discontinued after data was received last November,” the CM maintained.Sources said the government had restored pensions in cases flagged as “suspicious” based on Parivar Pehchan Patra (PPP) data. In future, if any beneficiary is marked as suspect, the department concerned will issue a show-cause notice and grant a hearing before removing a name from the list.Despite the rollback and safeguards, the issue appears far from settled, with the Opposition signalling that the matter will echo loudly in the House during the Budget session.

Pension row set to storm budget session of Haryana Assembly

Congress, INLD to corner govt in House

Geetanjali Gayatri

Tribune News Service

Pension row set to storm budget session of Haryana Assembly

Congress, INLD to corner govt in House

Geetanjali Gayatri

Tribune News Service

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