Old-age pension in Punjab a joke: Congress

The Punjab government's decision to increase the old-age pension to Rs 500 per month today drew flak from Congress which dubbed it as a "cruel joke" and an "election stunt".
Punjab Congress General Secretary Satnam Singh Kainth said, "The state government's move to enhance the old-age pension from Rs 250 to Rs 500 per month is an election stunt and a cruel joke on elderlies."
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal should himself show how one can survive for a month on Rs 500, he said.
In Haryana, the old-age pension is Rs 1,200 per month and is being further increased to Rs 1,400 from January next year while its a cruel joke on senior citizens of Punjab who would get Rs 500 per month, Kainth said.

Since the state Cabinet decided to enhance the pension, advertisements worth crores of rupees have been published in newspapers, Kainth said.
He said, "It seems that state government has spent more money on advertisement than the annual budget of the old-age pension".
Instead of spending money on advertisement, they should have given it to the senior citizens, Kainth said.