SMT Jaya Bachchan, Bollywood actress and Honourable Member of Parliament, recently raised a very important issue in Parliament for which we salute her for her speech reproduced as under: She said that the government should kill all senior citizens after the age of 65 because the government is not even ready to pay attention to these nation builders. “Is it a crime to be a senior citizen in India?” she said.
Senior citizens of India are not eligible for medical insurance after the age of 70. They do not get loan on EMI. Driving license is not issued to them. They are not given any work, hence they depend on others for their survival. They had paid all the taxes and insurance premiums upto the age of retirement. Now, even after becoming senior citizens, they have to still pay all the taxes. There is no scheme for senior citizens in India. 50% discount on railways and air travel have also been discontinued. The other side of the picture is that senior citizens in politics — MLAs, MPs and Ministers, are given every possible benefit and they also get pensions around Rs 50,000 a month.
I fail to understand why senior citizens are denied the facilities which senior citizens who have worked for government organisations get. Imagine, if the children are not caring about them, where will they go? If the elders of the country go against the government in elections, it will affect the election results and the government will have to face the consequences.
Our seniors have the power to change the government, hence, we should not ignore them. They have the life long experience to change the government. Hence, we must not consider them weak. The government spends a lot of money on welfare schemes, but never realises about senior citizens. On the contrary, the income of senior citizens is decreasing due to reduction in interest rates of banks. If some of them are getting a meager pension to support the family and self, it is also subject to income tax.
So senior citizens should be considered for some benefits like: 1. All citizens above the age of 60 must be given a good monthly pension. 2. Everybody must be given pension as per their status. 3. They should get a concession in railway, bus and air travel. 4. Insurance should be ‘must’ for all senior citizens up to their last breath and premium must be paid by the government. 5. Court cases of senior citizens must be given priority for early decision. 6. There should be homes for the aged in every city and towns with all facilities.
Let’s hope that this government who talks of “Sab ke saath, sab ka vikas” will do some betterment of those who have contributed in nation building and are now past their prime.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Mumbai, India
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