In Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh, there was a lot of uproar on the issue of restoration of Old Pension Scheme (OPS) inside and outside the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly on Thursday. While thousands of employees demonstrated furiously, the opposition surrounded the government from the beginning of the session inside the House till 5 pm. During the question hour in the morning, the opposition reached the Well regarding the OPS, raised slogans and walked out of the house. On the other hand, thousands of employees from across the state reached Shimla and demonstrated vigorously against the government. The government’s intelligence and security arrangements failed to stop the protesters.
The workers reached the main gate of the assembly by breaking the barricades put up at four places in the city. The entire city was jammed on Thursday due to the demonstration of NPS Employees Federation. It took people five hours to reach Shimla from Tuticandi crossing. The city’s Tuticandi bypass was blocked for the first time. All the preparations of the police and administration were destroyed in front of the protesters. The people of the city also witnessed such massive chaos for the first time.
During this, the police pelted sticks on the employees, also left water cannons. The police lost their hands in controlling the protesters. The police fell short in front of thousands of employees.
The entire Shimla city was jammed due to the demonstration of NPS Employees Federation. People going for important work or going to the hospital got upset. On the other hand, during the Vidhan Sabha session, there was a heated argument between Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and Leader of Opposition Mukesh Agnihotri on the same issue in the House.
Before 5 pm, the assembly had to be adjourned for five minutes and in the morning, CPI(M) MLA Rakesh Singha also went to the well with the opposition and raised slogans. CM Jairam Thakur appeared aggressive against the opposition on this issue.
The protesters reached Tunnel 103 from Tutikandi crossing at 11 am. Here the police tried to stop them. After this, there was silence for some time when the invitation to talk came, but after 15 minutes the employees pushed forward.