New Delhi, Aug 28 (IANS): Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera hit out at the BJP on Wednesday, saying that there was nothing new in the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS).
"What new scheme? Everything is almost similar to the Old Pension Scheme which you (BJP) were against. What new thing are you doing?," he remarked to IANS while answering a question on the issue.
The leader’s comments came hours after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday dismissed the Congress' accusations of misinformation, stating that the recently-introduced UPS was a new initiative, not a rollback of the National Pension System (NPS).
"It is not a rollback... it is different from OPS and NPS. It is clearly a new package," she asserted.
The Central government approved the UPS last week for government employees.
In the latest scheme, it assures a pension of 50 per cent of the basic salary for those who joined the service after January 1, 2004.
The move from the Centre triggered another political slugfest with the Opposition led by the Congress and the ruling BJP exchanging barbs since August 23.
The Congress took a jibe at the Centre over its announcement of the UPS, saying the 'U' in UPS stands for the Modi government's "U-turns."
Talking to IANS on Wednesday, Pawan Khera also talked about Uttar Pradesh's Digital Media Policy and said, “Who will decide what is positive and what is negative? If I write against the BJP on social media, will it be considered anti-national? So what kind of dictatorship is this, they are trying to bring police rule through the back door."
The Uttar Pradesh government approved the state's Digital Media Policy during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
As per the proposal, the government will now provide advertisements related to its schemes and accomplishments on social media platforms such as X, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
The account holders will receive monthly payments according to four categories based on their subscribers and followers.
Additionally, it has been clarified that legal action would be taken against account holders who post objectionable, vulgar, obscene, or anti-national content.