Shimla, Nov 10 (PTI) The Congress is making the old pension scheme a political issue, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur said on the last day of campaigning for the November 12 Assembly polls and asserted that the opposition party has no moral right to seek its restoration as it had not done so when it was in power in the hill state.Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Thakur said the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in a very comfortable position and is set to retain power in Himachal Pradesh.He also challenged the opposition to compare any five-year term of the previous chief ministers in the state to his tenure, claiming that the current BJP regime under him has done more work than the earlier governments.On the issue of the old pension scheme (OPS), Thakur wondered that if the Congress had realised that adopting the new scheme was a mistake, why did it not revert to the old one when it was ruling the state between 2012 and 2017.The Congress, which is seeking to wrest power from the BJP in Himachal Pradesh, has promised to restore the OPS if it forms the government in the hill state.Thakur said a committee formed by the state government will explore the issue threadbare.Slamming the Congress, he said it "has no moral right to talk about the restoration of the OPS as the leaders of the party had signed a memorandum of understanding, ending the OPS and implementing the NPS across the country"."They are raking up the issue only for political considerations. The Congress should apologise."If they made a mistake, they had time to make amends when the Virbhadra Singh government was formed (in the state) in 2012. At that time, they could have restored the OPS," Thakur said.After almost two decades, the Congress is trying to make it a poll issue, he added."We have always said we should not jump to conclusions.... What can be the way forward (on the OPS issue), has the Congress studied its implication?" he asked.With the Congress maintaining that its governments have implemented the OPS in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Thakur took a swipe at the party.Referring to an event attended by him, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the chief ministers of Rajasthan and Assam were also present, Thakur said when they were "having lunch together, (Rajasthan Chief Minister) Ashok Gehlot told the prime minister with folded hands that "we have to announce the restoration of the OPS but it cannot be possible without your blessings and cooperation"." He asked whether the Rajasthan government has restored the OPS in the last nine months since an announcement was made in this regard and said a chaotic situation prevails there on the issue.In Punjab too, the previous Congress government had said it would restore the OPS, Thakur said.With several government employees in his state recently raising the demand for restoring the OPS, the chief minister said "we understand their sentiments", but added that they should be conscious of the fact that the Congress is talking about the issue "for political considerations"."The Congress has no future either in the country or in the state," he said.Of the around 2.5 lakh employees of the Himachal Pradesh government, 1.5 lakh are covered under the new pension scheme (NPS).There have been protests earlier by employees" associations against the NPS in Shimla, Mandi, Kangra and Solan.The OPS, under which the entire pension amount was given by the government, was discontinued in the country from April 1, 2004.According to the NPS, the employees contribute 10 per cent of their basic salary towards pension while the state government contributes 14 per cent.On the apple growers" demand for a hike in the minimum support price (MSP) and a 100-per cent raise in the import duty for apples, Thakur said, "We have placed the issue of import duty before the Centre." He also said the MSP on apple was increased by the BJP more than what the Congress had done, while asserting that his government is sensitive to the concerns of the apple growers.Various surveys have shown that the BJP is way ahead of the Congress and would repeat its government in the state, Thakur said.He said the saffron party would emerge victorious in the poll contest on the basis of the performance of its governments at the Centre as well as in the state."The double-engine government will work to further accelerate the progress of the state," Thakur said.He added that the saffron party"s campaign in the state got a boost with the prime minister addressing poll rallies.Modi has an emotional connect with Himachal Pradesh and people are aware of it, Thakur said, adding that projects worth nearly Rs 10,500 crore have been given by the Centre to the state through various schemes.Polling to the 68-member Himachal Pradesh Assembly will be held on Saturday and the counting of votes will be taken up on December 8. PTI SUN RC