Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) led by Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala in Haryana has been criticised by Opposition parties for not fulfilling its promise of increasing the old age pension to Rs 5100 per month, as mentioned in their manifesto. The BJP, in alliance with JJP, has refused to increase the pension to Rs 5000, stating that it was not committed to any such promise in their manifesto. This has led to political uproar, with Congress, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accusing JJP of betrayal.
Dushyant Chautala defended himself by saying that it was not possible to increase the pension to the promised amount with just 10 legislators. However, he assured that he would keep trying to fulfil his promise and emphasised that increasing the monthly old age pension to Rs 5100 was a top priority for JJP. The Chief Minister, Manohar Lal, rejected the demand for increasing the pension to Rs 5000, stating that the BJP had not committed to any such promise in their manifesto. The BJP-JJP agreed to form a committee to formulate a “common minimum programme” to arrive at a consensus over which promises could be kept.
The Congress, the main opposition party, has promised to increase the old age pension to Rs 6000 ahead of forthcoming elections. Contrary to JJP’s promise made in the manifesto, the BJP has not offered any such increase to Rs 5000. The BJP and the JJP are likely to be at loggerheads over several issues ahead of the polls. The BJP has indicated that their party is not entirely dependent on the JJP after the independent legislators repeatedly support the BJP.
In summary, JJP’s failure to fulfil its promise of increasing the old age pension has led to criticism from opposition parties. While Dushyant Chautala assured that increasing the pension was a top priority for JJP, the BJP has refused to increase it to Rs 5000, as promised by JJP. The formation of a committee by the BJP-JJP alliance to arrive at a consensus on promises is expected to ease tensions between the parties. Meanwhile, the Congress has promised to increase the pension to Rs 6000 if it forms the government.
