Chandigarh:
AAP National Media In-charge Anurag Dhanda on Friday termed the changes in old-age pension rules in Haryana as an act of cruelty by the CM Nayab Singh-led government. He alleged that by altering the old-age pension rules, the BJP government is preparing to snatch food from the plates of senior citizens. If these changes are implemented, thousands of poor farmers and elderly people in Haryana will be deprived of pensions.
Anurag Dhanda said that if an elderly person owns more than four acres of agricultural land or sells crops through the “Meri Fasal–Mera Byora” portal, the government is preparing to cut their pension. He added that the Haryana government has become so insensitive that it has started considering a farmer prosperous merely for selling crops worth ₹1.80 lakh. CM Nayab Singh is unable to distinguish between poverty and prosperity. He has forgotten that selling crops does not mean net profit, as it includes the farmer’s labour, ploughing, and the cost of seeds and fertilizers. On one hand, the BJP makes a false promise of giving ₹5,100 to farmers, and on the other, it has stooped so low as to snatch even the old-age pensions of poor farmers.
Anurag Dhanda said that in several cases, reports have emerged that the income of other family members is also being added to the elderly person’s income, even when they are living separately. Poor senior citizens in Haryana are worried due to this decision and have been forced to make rounds of government offices. He said it is extremely shameful that instead of serving them, CM Saini is forcing senior citizens at this age to undergo unnecessary harassment and mental torture.
Anurag Dhanda stated that old-age pension is not a government charity but a constitutional and social right of senior citizens. The BJP government is trying to take away this right in the name of portals and technical rules, which the Aam Aadmi Party will not tolerate under any circumstances. The Aam Aadmi Party stands firmly with the poor and senior citizens of Haryana.
He said that around 2.3 million senior citizens in Haryana depend on old-age pensions. If the government truly wants to show respect, it should stop placing the burden of portal-related errors on the elderly; otherwise, it will be clearly understood that the BJP government is following a policy of snatching the livelihood of senior citizens and farmers.
He demanded that all proposed changes related to old-age pension rules be withdrawn immediately and that the rule of treating total crop sales as income be scrapped. Not a single eligible senior citizen’s pension should be stopped; instead, the government should make the pension system simpler and more humane.
