A fierce debate has recently broken out among political parties in Haryana regarding the issue of hiking the amount for the old age pension The Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), an ally of the ruling BJP, had promised to increase the amount to be given as old age pension in the state, but has failed to do so. This has led to some unhappiness amongst voters.
Meanwhile, the Opposition which comprises the Congress, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has continued to attack the JJP, claiming that the party betrayed the people by failing to fulfil the promise made in its election manifesto ahead of the 2019 elections. The JJP had promised to increase the pension by Rs 5,100. Defending the party, JJP leaders have claimed that they cannot reach a decision as they do not have an absolute majority. As an alliance partner of the BJP, the party has just ten legislators in the state government. Earlier, in 2013-14, a pension of Rs 1,000 was being provided to the elderly in the state who lacked the resources or means to lead comfortable lives. Since 2014, the pension amount has been increased incrementally. The pension amount in 2022-23 is Rs 2,750 in 2022-23.
At present, 29.71 lakh people are receiving social security pensions including old age pension, honour allowance, widow and disabled pension. After increasing the income limit, the number of pensioners stands at almost 35 lakh. According to statistics, as many as 1,71,026 , 1,29,016 and 1,32,758 new pensioners were brought under the scheme in the years 2019, 2020 and 2021 respectively. The recent hike in the pension amount was considered applicable from 1 April 2023. In the meantime, other parties in the fray have not refrained from making huge promises to voters about hiking the pension amount. While Congress bigwig Bhupendra Singh Hooda announced that the pension amount would be raised to Rs 6,000 if the Congress comes to power. Similarly, INLD supremo Om Prakash Chautala has promised to increase the pension to Rs 7,500 if the Dal comes in power. Chief Minister Manohar Lal said recently that the BJP is the “main” ruling party, while the JJP is just a partner in the government, delivering a blow to the JJP. However, party stalwart Digvijay Chautala, has used this statement to justify the inaction regarding the
pension hike.