If the Samajwadi Party is voted back to power, it would restore the old pension system for government employees and teachers, party president Akhilesh Yadav said on Thursday. In a bid to woo the Dalits and the OBCs, Mr. Yadav also spoke out against outsourcing of government jobs and privatisation, saying these were being used to finish off reservations.
The promise to restore the pension system to the pre-2005 era system would be included in the SP’s official manifesto. Over 13 lakh people are expected to benefit from it, the party said.
Mr. Yadav said he had consulted financial experts on how a corpus fund could be created for the new pension scheme. He also said he was considering steps to do away with outsourcing of jobs. He said outsourcing was being used to “snatch” the rights and honour given through the Constitution provided by B. R Ambedkar.
“Outsource is not a good practice. There is nothing other than exploitation in it,” said Mr. Yadav, stating that outsourcing and privitisation were means of finishing off reservations.
“The BJP does not want to give the deprived and poor their rights,” he said at a press conference.
The SP chief also said he would restore the Yash Bharti awards for people excelling in their respective fields. A similar award Nagar Bharti would be introduced at the district level, he said.
The BJP government had stopped the award after it came to power.