Guwahati, March 28: The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) Assam State Committee has strongly condemned the BJP-led NDA government’s unilateral decision to exclude existing pensioners from the benefits of the 8th Pay Commission, calling it a blatant act of discrimination against retired government employees.

In a statement on Friday, AITUC Assam secretary Ranjan Chowdhury criticized the move as “cruel and unjust”, urging all Central and state government employees and pensioners to launch immediate protest actions against what he described as the government’s continued apathy towards pensioners.

The controversy stems from an amendment to the CCS (Pension) Rules, introduced without discussion in Part IV of the Finance Bill presented in Parliament. The amendment ensures that only those who retire after the implementation of the 8th Pay Commission recommendations will receive the revised pension benefits, effectively denying parity between past and future pensioners.

Chowdhury pointed out that the 5th, 6th, and 7th Central Pay Commissions all stressed the need for parity between past and future pensioners.

He said the Supreme Court, in Civil Appeal No.10857 of 2016, ruled against discriminatory classifications among pensioners, reaffirming that all pensioners form a single class entitled to equal treatment.

He further pointed out that Article 14 of the Constitution guarantees equality before the law, which the latest amendment violates by creating two unequal classes of pensioners.

AITUC Assam highlighted the government’s increasing neglect of senior citizens, pointing out that railway concessions for senior citizens have been withdrawn, the lack of CGHS wellness centres in all districts leaves many retired employees without proper healthcare access and rising inflation and privatisation of essential services are making life harder for pensioners.

Chowdhury accused the government of betraying retired employees who dedicated 30-40 years of service to public administration. He emphasized that the purpose of pension revisions is to offset the rising cost of living, and excluding existing pensioners from this benefit is arbitrary, discriminatory, and unjustifiable.

Chowdhury urged all government employees, pensioners, and trade unions to unite in nationwide protests to demand the immediate withdrawal of the anti-pensioner amendments. He also called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to repeal the changes and ensure equal pension rights for all retirees.

“The government must recognize the contributions of its retired workforce instead of penalizing them,” Chowdhury stated, vowing that AITUC will stand with millions of pensioners in their fight for justice.

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