Raipur: The CG Legislative Assembly today witnessed discussions on the long-suspended MISA pensioner’s scheme. Opposition MLAs raised the issue demanding revocation of the pension scheme. An adjournment of 5 minutes was recorded as opposition sloganeered.
A derogatory conversation was witnessed where Opp MLA Dharmala Kaushik dubbed Congress responsible for the Emergency held in 1977 which brought huge turmoil to the country. He claimed that the Congress govt’s move was anti-people and murder of democracy. ‘They are violating’ the Chhattisgarh High Court order directing the release of pension for MISA detainees, he added.
The Congress after taking over CG in 2018, scrapped the pension scheme launched by the earlier BJP administration for those detained under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) during the Emergency.
The scheme was meant for people jailed under these provisions, including MISA, during the Emergency (which was in force from June 25, 1975, to March 31, 1977). Under the scheme, the common man who spent more than three months in jail under MISA during Emergency were given Rs 10,000 per month while those imprisoned for six months were given Rs 15,000 per month. Those jailed for more than six months were given Rs 25,000 as financial compensation. The scheme was suspended in January 2019, after it cited a physical verification of the beneficiaries and reassessment of the disbursement process.
During the Emergency imposed by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi, thousands of people were detained across the country under MISA, which gave sweeping powers to law enforcement agencies.