Elderly demanding pension upgrade meet Rahul Gandhi

A delegation of elderly citizens under the aegis of the Pension Parishad Wednesday met Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi.

The delegation led by social activist Aruna Roy told Gandhi that they have been silently protesting at Jantar Mantar since Nov 27 and have been waiting for the government to act on the commitments it had made to restructure pension for widows and disabled people so that they can live a life without becoming destitute.

"We are extremely disappointed that the government has gone back on its promises and over the assurances given in March 2013 by the minister for rural development," said Rambhav Shinde, who has come from Maharashtra.

Roy said: "The gulf between the 'aam aadmi' (common man) and the government is only going to widen if assurances made on public platforms and in writing are not fulfilled."

Gandhi listened to the woes of the elderly, expressed support and promised them he will pursue the matter.

The Pension Parishad, an initiative to ensure universal pension to all elderly in India, was started in February 2012 by Magsaysay Award-winning social activist Aruna Roy and trade union leader-social reformer Baba Adhav.

It has been demanding universal pension, especially for women, given their high levels of dependency for daily sustenance. The group has been demanding Rs.2,000 as minimum monthly pension or half the minimum wage, whichever is higher.