Opposition parties in Maharashtra protested on the stairs of Vidhan Bhawan, demanding the Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Abdul Sattar resign over his statements about farmers.
Abdul Sattar sparked controversy on Sunday after he remarked on the issue of "Farmers’ suicide."
The remarks drew flak from the opposition, and Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders started protesting and demanding Sattar’s resignation.
Congress leader and Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee President Nana Patole attacked the Maharashtra government by calling them "anti-farmer."
Speaking to the media, Patole said, "Be it the central government or the Maharashtra government, both are anti-farmer. The state government is not helping farmers, we want the demands of farmers to be fulfilled and the old pension scheme to be implemented, or else we will hold "Kursi Choro Andolan" throughout the State."
During the protest, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar also raised the issue of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) and said that the state government should consider the requests of the employees.
Speaking to the media, Ajit Pawar said, "The government needs to talk to the employees who are on strike and demanding the implementation of the Old Pension Scheme in the state. The state government will also have to see that if the small states have implemented this scheme, then why can’t advanced states like Maharashtra implement it?"
"I raised the issue in the Assembly today, and have requested the state government to negotiate and mediate on this as soon as possible because these strikes will lead to even more trouble for the people," Pawar added.
Notably, under the old pension scheme (OPS), a government employee is entitled to a monthly pension after retirement. The monthly pension is typically half of the last drawn salary of the person.
Under the new pension scheme (NPS), employees contribute a portion of their salaries to the pension fund. Based on that, they are entitled to a one-time lump sum on their superannuation.
For the record, the old pension scheme was discontinued in December 2003, and the new pension scheme came into effect on April 1, 2004.
(With ANI Inputs)