Justice K. Sreenivasa Reddy of the Andhra Pradesh High Court has directed the Andhra Pradesh Contributory Pension Scheme Employees’ Association (APCPSEA) to come up with a fresh date for the proposed Chalo Vijayawada agitation scheduled for September 1.
He was hearing a writ petition filed by the APCPSEA against the denial of permission for the agitation through which they intended to mount pressure on the government to keep its promises made to them in the run-up to the last Assembly elections to scrap the CPS.
The court took due note of the employees’ right to stage a peaceful protest against the government’s alleged backtracking on its promise and the contention of the advocate who appeared for the State, that the employees were likely to cause disturbances and it might cause a law and order problem.
Justice Sreenivasa Reddy said he could not deprive the employees of their legitimate right to protest while calling upon them to fix a fresh date in view of the concerns raised by the government pleader. The case has been posted to September 1 for further hearing.
The employees have been demanding for a long time that the CPS should be scrapped, saying that it was a loss-making proposition for them. They also raised doubts on the Guaranteed Pension Scheme (GPS) offered by the government with an assurance that it was better than the CPS.
