The Congress President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, feels that the amount of old age pension at Rs 200 a month is far too low, according to social activist Baba Adhav and Ms Aruna Roy, who met her along with a delegation of aged poor on Monday.
Ms Roy said that in the over half-hour interaction, Ms Gandhi was "strongly supportive" of the need for pension for the elderly. She said she would do her best to have the Pension Parishad’s demands turned into a reality, though she was not sure about the amount. The Parishad has been demanding universal pension of at least Rs 2,000 per month.
The UPA Chairperson also assured the Parishad that in principle she was in agreement with the need for a universal (with exclusions) pension scheme, and for enhancing the pension amount, Ms Roy said in a release here on Tuesday.
Baba Adhav explained to Ms Gandhi how the hamals (coolies) had created a legislation that was supported by a levy on the employer, and no financial burden on the exchequer, and the manner in which Maharashtra’s Employment Guarantee Act could be used as a model to levy a cess to gather dedicated resources outside of the current Budget.