In poll mode, Himachal congress promises to restore old pension scheme

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Shimla, March 31

The main fight in the Assembly elections will be between the BJP and the Congress and AAP will only be a spoilsport. If voted to power, the Congress will restore the old pension scheme (OPS) and regularise the services of outsourced employees to end their exploitation by contractors, said Rajeev Shukla, CWC member and party in-charge of Himachal, here today.

He said that there was no factionalism in the Congress. Party leaders could be ambitious but they were not overambitious that they would harm the Congress. Shukla was here on a two-day visit to oversee the party’s preparedness for the Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) elections.

Shukla interacted with party workers and took part in a protest against the price rise. “Is there any party or a family where there are no differences? It is the same with the Congress and thus it will be unfair to call the party as faction ridden,” he said.

He said that on the contrary, the BJP was a divided house both in Himachal and at the Centre. “It is wrong to infer that there is factionalism in the Congress just because some senior leaders are not present today. My visit was planned at a very short notice, so some of them, who had pre-engagements, missed it. They informed me about their preoccupation,” he clarified while replying to questions about bickering within the party.

Shukla said that there was no dearth of leadership in the Congress and the high command would decide the Chief Minister if the party was voted to power.

He said that AICC president Sonia Gandhi would take the decision about the changes in the party organisation. “She had held talks with all senior leaders from Himachal. After assessing all permutations and combinations and weighing the pros and cons that she will take the final decision,” he added.

He said, “AAP is like a tourist, which is scouting for fertile land. The party had tried its luck in Gujarat and Uttarakhand as well. AAP, in its ambition to become a pan-India party, wants to try its luck in Himachal as well”.