bsnl-pensioners-body-demands-withdrawal-of-proposed-amendment-to-pension-rules-the-hindu.pdf

BSNL corporate office letter dated 26.03.2025, addressed to all Heads of Telecom Circles/Metro Districts and other administrative units. The letter requests information regarding the financial implications if the Supreme Court order is implemented.

Enclosures :Hon’ble CAT, New Delhi, Principal Bench order dated 21.03.2023 (O.A. No. 2544/2015).Hon’ble High Court, New Delhi decision dated 23.01.2024 (Writ Petition (Civil) 15760/2023).Hon’ble Supreme Court order dated 03.01.2025.

letter-dated-26.03.2025-to-circles-in-the-matter-of-slp-c-dy.-

no.-51350_2024.pdf

All India BSNL Pensioners Association strongly condemns the government’s proposed amendment to the Pension Rules, which seeks to override Supreme Court rulings and deny rightful benefits to pensioners.

This amendment is not just a bureaucratic change—it is an outright assault on the dignity and financial security of millions of retirees who have served the nation with dedication.

The Supreme Court, in landmark judgments such as D.S. Nakara v. Union of India, has upheld that pension is not a government charity but a vested right of retirees, and that differentiating pensioners solely on the basis of retirement date is unconstitutional. Instead of respecting these rulings, the government is now manipulating the law to suit its convenience, bypassing judicial scrutiny, and institutionalizing discrimination against past pensioners.

Exposing the Government’s Real Intentions Deliberate Exclusion of Past Pensioners:

The amendment ensures that future Pay Commission benefits apply only to new retirees, robbing existing pensioners of fair revisions. This is an open violation of equality and natural justice. Financial Austerity at the Cost of the Elderly: The government is prioritizing budget control over retirees’ livelihoods, refusing to honor pension commitments despite collecting lifelong service from employees. If there is money for corporate bailouts and political extravagance, why deny justice to pensioners? Suppressing Judicial Directives: This is a validation law—a sneaky move to neutralize unfavorable Supreme Court judgments that upheld pensioners’ rights. By rewriting the law, the government is evading legal accountability.

Pension is a Right, Not a Favor: Retirees do not live on government generosity—they live on what is rightfully theirs. This amendment reeks of betrayal, treating pensioners as a burden rather than the backbone of the nation’s workforce.

We, as a pensioners’ association, demand an immediate rollback of this anti-pensioner amendment.

We call upon:

Parliamentarians to oppose this draconian move and stand for justice.

Trade Unions and Employee Associations to recognize this as a dangerous precedent that could impact future retirees as well.

The Judiciary to take suo motu cognizance of this attempt to override legal protections.

All pensioners and the public to unite in resisting this injustice and expose the government’s anti-retiree agenda.

If the government does not withdraw this amendment, we will escalate our protests nationwide, mobilizing pensioners, employees, and the public against this blatant violation of rights.

We refuse to be silent victims. Pension is our right, and we will fight for it.

V Vara Prasad General Secretary

Circle Conference of UP (West) was successfully held on 24-3-2025 at Meerut. The total number of participants was approximately 150. Conference was addressed by General Secretary Com. Vara Prasad focusing on the issues faced by BSNL retired pensioners. CHQ Deputy General Secretary Com. Anupam Kaul, Org Secretary Com. J.S. Dahiya, and Uttar Pradesh (West) Circle Secretary Com. Kailash Gautam also addressed the gathering. Com RD Ram Vice President (CHQ) shared the dias. The following office bearers were elected for the next three years: Com. Chandramohan Sharma – President Com. Kailash Gautam – Secretary Com. Rakesh Chand – Treasurer

The AIBSNLPWA Dharwad District Conference was held grandly on March 21, 2025, at the GM TD Hubballi Office Conference Hall. District President Com. M.N. Ghorpade presided over the event, while Com. R. Jayashankar, the Circle Secretary, attended as the chief guest. Several key leaders, including Com. N.K. Gandigawad, Com. C.K. Hosamani, Com. Shivanand, Com. S.L. Pujar, Com. V.M. Kanakeri, and Com. S.K. Nadiger, along with district and branch office bearers and a large number of members, participated. For the term 2025-26 and 2026-27, Com. M.N. Ghorpade was unanimously elected as President, Com. Vijaykumar Mandi as District Secretary, and Com. S.K. Nadiger as Treasurer.

Bi-Annual Conference of Cuttack Telecom District was held on March 2, 2025, at Cuttack, under the presidentship of Com. Ramesh Chandra Mohanty. Com. J.K. Tripathy, CHQ Vice President and Com. B.N. Behera, Odisha Circle Secretary, have attended and addressed. The conference unanimously elected the office bearers for the term 2025-2027, with Com. Ramesh Chandra Mohanty as Chief Patron, Com. Subha Narayan Das as President, Com. Sricharan Mohanty as District Secretary, and Com. Prafulla Chandra Das as Treasurer.

The Tamil Nadu Circle Executive Committee (CEC) meeting was successfully held on March 18-19, 2025, at RGMTTC Chennai. Com. V. Saminathan, Circle President, presided over the meeting. The meeting was attended and addressed by: Com. D. Gopalakrishnan, CHQ President Com. V. Vara Prasad, General Secretary Com. K. Muthiyalu, CHQ Vice President Com. A. Sugumaran, Veteran Leader Com. Sundarakrishnan, Circle Secretary, presented a detailed report on the activities of the Tamil Nadu Circle. The meeting was well-organized, with the STR Division successfully hosting the event.

Our matter, listed as Items 86-88, was called in the morning; however, due to time constraints, it could not be taken up today. Upon the request of our Senior Counsel, Mr. Ghose, the Court has agreed to list the matter at 2:30 PM on 22.04.2025. This specific time allocation is a rare exception.

CALICUT

KOTTAYAM

On March 8, 2025, the Chennai Traffic District of TN Circle celebrated International Women's Day under the leadership of CHQ Assistant Treasurer Com. V. Latha, in the presence of TN Advisor Com. V. Ramarao and District President Com. S. Sampathkumar. Our CHQ President Com. DG extended greetings and delivered an inspiring address, highlighting the challenges faced by women globally. Three exceptional women achievers were honored: 1. Dr. Anurathna – Chief Medical Officer, Ponneri Government Hospital, Tamil Nadu. Her book "Vannathupoochi" (Butterfly) was released by our CHQ President. 2. Com. A.K. Saramma – Veteran trade union leader who played a key role in the 1960 and 1968 strikes and served as Divisional Secretary of CTX, SSX, and ITX divisions. 3. Ms. G. Anitha – A visually impaired Ph.D. scholar from a humble background. Moved by her story, Traffic District members voluntarily contributed Rs. 11,000 to support her. Following the meeting, members joined a joint social welfare initiative with Nalam Seya Virumbu Trust at Kalaignar Centenary Super Speciality Hospital, Guindy, Chennai. Responding to the request of the hospital's Director, Dr. L. Parthasarathi, a "Wall of Kindness" was inaugurated under the theme "Give it – Take it." Essential supplies worth Rs. 20,000, including clothing and toiletries, were donated to assist underprivileged patients and their attendants.

On March 8, 2025, the Chennai Traffic District of TN Circle celebrated International Women's Day under the leadership of CHQ Assistant Treasurer Com. V. Latha, in the presence of TN Advisor Com. V. Ramarao and District President Com. S. Sampathkumar. Our CHQ President Com. DG extended greetings and delivered an inspiring address, highlighting the challenges faced by women globally. Three exceptional women achievers were honored: 1. Dr. Anurathna – Chief Medical Officer, Ponneri Government Hospital, Tamil Nadu. Her book "Vannathupoochi" (Butterfly) was released by our CHQ President. 2. Com. A.K. Saramma – Veteran trade union leader who played a key role in the 1960 and 1968 strikes and served as Divisional Secretary of CTX, SSX, and ITX divisions. 3. Ms. G. Anitha – A visually impaired Ph.D. scholar from a humble background. Moved by her story, Traffic District members voluntarily contributed Rs. 11,000 to support her. Following the meeting, members joined a joint social welfare initiative with Nalam Seya Virumbu Trust at Kalaignar Centenary Super Speciality Hospital, Guindy, Chennai. Responding to the request of the hospital's Director, Dr. L. Parthasarathi, a "Wall of Kindness" was inaugurated under the theme "Give it – Take it." Essential supplies worth Rs. 20,000, including clothing and toiletries, were donated to assist underprivileged patients and their attendants.

Shri M. Rajasekhar Reddy, Assistant General Secretary, attended as the chief guest. He emphasized two main issues: 1. The need to include the BSNL pension revision under the purview of the recently announced 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC). 2. The injustice of non settlement of pension revision due from 2017 and efforts of association.

The office bearers newly elected are :

President: G. Venkatesh

District Secretary: G. Harinath Reddy

Treasurer: Mahaboob Peera

On March 6, 2025, a delegation from AIBSNLPWA led by General Secretary Shri V. Vara Prasad, Vice President Shri R. S. N. Murthy, and Visakhapatnam District Advisor Shri V. R. K. Sarma met Hon’ble Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman at Novotel Hotel, Visakhapatnam. The Finance Minister was in Visakhapatnam as the Chief Guest in connection with the meeting on Budget Debate. During the meeting, we submitted a memorandum requesting the inclusion of the BSNL pension revision issue in the Terms of Reference (TOR) of the 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC). MP Smt. Daggubati Purandeswari was also present during the meeting. We are pleased to inform you that Hon’ble Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman listened attentively to our concerns. It is learned that she has endorsed our letter to an IAS officer accompanying FM for further action.

Nextly, the delegation also met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Shri N. Chandrababu Naidu who is visiting FM, We presented him with a shawl as a token of respect and requested him again to consider forwarding our letter, which we had previously submitted during our meeting with him on January 28, 2025, regarding the BSNL pension revision issue as a terms of reference to 8th CPC. We expessed our sincere thanks to FM for granting us an opportunity of meeting.

The pension revision case in the Delhi High Court, listed on February 28, 2025, the case is adjourned to March 11, 2025.

DOWNLOAD HERE : pp-march-2025.pdf

On 19-02-2025, General Secretary V Vara Prasad, along with RSN Murthy, met Ms. Roshni Sohni, DDG (Establishment), Sanchar Bhawan. We requested proactive favorable action for the inclusion of our pension revision in the Terms of Reference to the 8th CPC. We also requested the issuance of necessary clearance to BSNL Corporate office to settle the pension case of Sri V K Bhaskar, DE Retired, Bareilly SSA, for the service rendered in DoT as perCCS ( Pension ) Rules sub-Rule 24 (c) of Rule 37 A. She has assured positive action on both matters.

General Secretary V Vara Prasad, along with Vice President RSN Murthy, met Shri Rakesh Gupta, DDG (Accounts), Sanchar Bhawan, to discuss the issue of reduction of Last Pay Drawn (LPD) for retirees. We emphasized that the reduction was irregular and that the verification period is limited to 24 months as per rules.

DDG (A) has asked 10 cases of affected retirees along with PPO copies for his examination and has assured us that he will revisit the issue.

The cases of LPD reductions along with PPO copies will again be submitted for further examination shortly.

On February 19, 2025, our General Secretary V Vara Prasad and Vice President Sri R S N Murthy met Additional Secretary & CRCS, Sri Rabindra Kumar Agarwal, in Delhi and discussed the issue of pending dues for the members of GTECS Ltd Chennai. We have given copies of our letters written on previous occassions. CRCS informed us that the Registrar of Societies, Government of Tamil Nadu, has been requested to conduct an inspection regarding the matter. He also stated that they are in touch with Sri Nandakumar, the present Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Tamil Nadu. CRCS expressed sympathy for the affected members and assured us that they are actively monitoring the situation. We have requested CRCS to expedite the investigation and ensure that the dues are disbursed within a reasonable timeframe. We have also requested him to visit Chennai to interact with the concerned in the State Govt. Addl Secretary further informed that in addition to departmental inspection, an independent agency has been appointed to investigate into the affairs of society. The CRCS. office has shared a letter addressed to Sri Karthi Chidambaram MP, dated February 19, 2025, regarding this issue.

Copy enclosed crcs-19022025.pdf

Today, Com. V. Vara Prasad, General Secretary, and Com. R. S. N. Murty, Vice President, met Shri Manoj Dwivedi, Additional Secretary, Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT), in New Delhi. We briefed him on the issue of including BSNL pension revision in the Terms of Reference of the 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC) and emphasized its importance for retired BSNL employees. Shri Dwivedi assured us that the matter will be examined, and appropriate action will be taken.