Attacking the central government for its decision to slash the interest rate on employees’ provident fund (EPF), the Trinamool Congress on Saturday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi keeps himself busy by adding to the woes of the people. The new interest rate on EPF is the lowest in 40 years, the TMC tweeted with the hashtag #8YearsOfShame.
The Centre had, on Friday, approved an 8.1 percent rate of interest on EPF deposits for 2021-22 — an over four-decade low — for about five crore subscribers of retirement fund body the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). The TMC in a tweet said: "Ever wondered how Mr. Busy Prime Minister Shri Shri @narendramodi Ji keeps himself busy? By adding to the woes of people, one after another!” The party also shared a year-wise list of EPF interest rates from 2014-to 15 when a BJP-led coalition came to power at the Centre.
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In a separate tweet, senior TMC leader and West Bengal’s Minister of State for Finance, Chandrima Bhattacharya, claimed that the Modi government is biting into the hard-earned savings of people. "@narendramodi Ji is looting people and also biting into their hard-earned savings. From inept policies to poor governance, we have seen it all in these eight years. This is extremely cruel," she said in the Twitter post. Earlier in March, the EPFO had decided to lower the interest on provident fund deposits for 2021-22 to 8.1 percent from 8.5 percent provided in 2020-21. The Centre approved it on Friday.
The 8.1 percent EPF rate of interest is the lowest since 1977-78 when it stood at 8 percent.
