Kiran Choudhry, Leader of the Haryana Congress Legislature Party, has asked the BJP Government, led by the Chief Minister, Mr Manohar Lal, to stop harassing the beneficiaries of old age pension, tell banks to put an end to the illegal practice of adjusting the pension amount against any loan installment, and ensure that senior citizens get their due without any hassles or harassment.In a statement issued here today, the former excise and taxation minister said that instead of addressing the n number of complaints about old-age pension not being paid to many, the government is allowing banks to resort to the illegal practice of adjusting the pension amount against the installment of loan taken by the beneficiary.
“This is illegal, unjustified and uncalled for, and must be put an end to”, she said. There are cases where people are not getting old age pension for more than two years. There are also cases where account numbers have not been uploaded on the website despite submission of documents. “Instead of redressing their grievances and quickening the pace of uploading all bank accounts of pensioners, the government keeps harping on having detected about six lakh bogus pensioners”, Mrs Choudhry remarked.“Old age pension being the only source of income for many, it is the duty of the state government to ensure that they get it regularly, and without any difficulty”, she demanded.