Tension as anti-CPS agitators block road

Vijayawada: Tension prevailed for sometime, when state government employees opposing Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) were arrested for blocking Bandar road at NTR Statue resulting in traffic jam on Sunday.

The employees who began three-day march at Machilipatnam on March 2, entered the city on Sunday morning. They were raising slogans with a demand to cancel CPS. MLC Rama Krishna and NGO West Krishna president Vidya Sagar welcomed the marching agitators. The employees raised slogans demanding that the government implement revised pension scheme of 1980 instead of CPS.

The police had to forcefully arrest the employees and move them to police station to clear the traffic. Addressing the gathering, Vidya Sagar demanded that the state government pass a resolution in the Assembly to cancel CPS and send a report to the Central government. 

United Teachers Federation (UTF) secretary Babu Reddy said representations were given MPs and MLAs requesting to take action and cancel CPS, but there was no response. The BJP, TDP and opposition YSRCP parties should collectively take a decision to cancel GO 653 and 654 to cancel CPS, he demanded. CPS Employees Association district president P Satyanarayana, D Archana, T Naga Raju, M Srinivas, CM Dasu and other members were present.