I
write this with pain & anguish in my heart.It is a pity that
select pensioner self styled heroes can go to this extent of hurting
everybody, every organisation, their own institution ,that too close on
the heels of LIC 1 September Anniversary,59 years of Saga of LIC to
our Nation & Motherland. So too, instead of praising Pensioner
Fedns, irrespective of merits & efficiency or faults &
foibles, as nobody else is there to constitute a Group to address to
pensioners issues & grievances. To use sarcasm, to spit poison,
to hit below the belt others ,of whatever standing speaks small. I
bemoan as same could have been couched in parliamentary language ,shorn
of wrong findings.
We
never knew we have historians amongst pensioners.What a narration,
what a depiction .What is the timing of this outburst, let them
reengineer themselves & their so-called Association, not even
Fedn.When some Samaritans have correctly echoed their views that
anything negative or critical, anything deficient in so-called thinking
& perception on LIC Board Resolution or even Hon SJBhandaris
judgement, within few moments, such a writeup, more so ,on the eve of
historic sitting of SC Bench on 23 September, 2015 looks uncalled for.
When one says that Fedns have their own Agenda & pursue,what is
wrong ? Such critics have no locus standi to downgrade AIRIEF in
existence for near 19years & going & growing strong.No
other Pensioners Fedn could have done so much,even including so many
earlier positive Court verdicts on pensioners matters,which no other
Pensioner Fedn thought of,when ample time was there, indeed yeoman
service to the cause of Entire Fraternity of All Groups of Pensioners.
Pensioners
Fedn simply tend to ignore pensioners interests, AIRIEF cannot sit
idle. TPA Ecards is an example.Lot of personal effort we try to do in a
limited way, in times of dire need, & that is so useful to
assist the pensioners & relieve him & family.Single
track minded advices fade into oblivion.there is no need to
recapitulate the achievements of AIRIEF.Sheets of paper are
insufficient,we are not exaggerating.
What
is on paper ? Other Fedns have nothing to write much on Paper, we
have plenty to do.What needs to be aired & circulated, we do to
an extensive audience of pensioners.Even the few inserted in
Pensioners' Emails & Feedback,NSEW, in spite of a desire to
curtail, that will be doing injustice to those who read, who phone, who
write & it goes on to 12/15/18 pages, whatever. We know the
quantity, we know the quality.Shortterm legal pundits need not don the
role of teachers to teach others. Let them turn the searchlight on
themselves & errors,aberrations,blunders & unpardonable
Thesis & Slogans promoted adnauseum .Time & again, for
years ,even from 1998, then 2000 & 2001 intensification,Loss of
Pension Charts,Birth of LIC Board Resn, eye-opener which paved the
way for a clearer understanding & appreciation of TWIN BENEFIT
theory.Thro Booklets, articles, dissertations, replying any number to
pessimists & cassandras , we could tide over.It is SUCH
UNPARDONABLE SINGLE BENEFIT theory propounders who have to be evicted
from the detached, impartial, equitable reasoning & logic of
KMLA/AIRIEF ,with data, facts & figures to disprove that
Limited theory with Limited benefit & NEVER EVER pensioners can
dream to THINK of,let alone battle FOR Pension Upgradation,as many
many are very old, aged, infirm,want to hand over the baton to
youngsters.So, please abandon the habit of decrying Fedns,they had a
wonderful innings, they will have still beautiful work to do &
adorn themselves with credit & glory.When you are not able to
search for talents, don't aim or try to kill the goose that lays golden
eggs.
The real question is when you point out an accusing finger at
another, remember one finger points out to you inward & that
blemish has 1st to be obliterated before you attain the
credentials to voice your criticism.When PGG failed, in spite of my
reminders to Release & publish My Reply,I humbly walked out of
Chronicle. I informed all with reason why.I am able to silently devote
with many quarters to promote directly & indirectly pensioners
welfare & interests.So that is the WORST black mark against
Fedns who pretend to be carriers of justice helping pensioners but in
reality acting AGAINST their interests. SINGLE greatest Blunder is NOT
to attend to PERVASIVE issues & demands of pensioners.We
legitimised all these in a distilled form in AIRIEF Booklet COD,Charter
of Demands. Many since then are achieved & many more remain
& being followed.As rightly said by historian, nonstop on all
matters EXCEPT Pension. I thank profusely for that tribute.----That is
the real problem with the other 2 Fedns,very little, except through
lipserice, ALL EMBRACING issues of pensioners take a backseat.But
AIRIEF is not so & cannot be so.
Will
not History portray ONE BENEFIT ,DR ALONE , proponents against
pension upgradation. when ENTIRE WORKFORCE of pensioners in Banks, RBI,
OROP for Defence,everywhere, are vying with one another, this
RETROGRADE step of voting for DR ONLY, even at the last moment
sidetracking main issue, when a series of HC,SC judgements ,not easy
in any reckoning & that cant & wont be forgotten by
posterity. It was such a sad performance when Verdicts are treated with
gross misinterpretation & trying to fall into the trap of
LIC/UOI & coinciding with their line of thinking , which is
indeed abominable to be detested with contempt & disdain.
Meeting MOF top brass, LIC Top brass to embarrass AIRIEF is really to
subvert Justice, twist the tale of success thro saga of sacrifice ,not
for years but decades.There is nothing like a defacto or dejure in our
federation. We knew glimpses of small group meet at Chennai. To climb
the pinnacle of Victory is arduous but aiding to slip down the hill
to drain is easy,that is what the 2 other Fedns have done & are
trying to do.The meandering course of judicial process involves
certainly labour, money, strenuous preparations, browsing 100s of
pages & documents,plethora of applications, writs, appeal
counter, review counter, affidavits,Counter affidavits, Interim
Applications, many other needed legal interventions &
processes,which critics easily forget,shouldering tremendous
responsibility,even the desire to fail can never ,even as an iota
occur, processes which are costly,apart from travel, incidentals etc.
AIRIEF has met with a reasonable degree of success ,with justifiable
pride & without even a faint exaggeration, we can say
endeavoured our best to bestow as many benefits as possible &
made pensioners lives certainly more happy & liveable than
hitherto & all with tremendous degree of focus &
concentration.
What
a pity ,one falls & emulates the famous Indian character
& Pharisaical temper ,which believes itself to be impregnably
in the right & its opponents to be indubitably in the wrong.
AIRIEF OBs never like their position, but we OBs love our disposition.
We never care for any Title but unswervingly regard ourselves as
humble servants to serve pensioners, or else at this age why assume
position or called upon to serve,agree with all their heart &
bring glory to AIRIEF ?
One
cannot understand why somebody should fathom deep as a CBI to say that
the Regional satrap has no clue of what is happening in that crucial
area of legal processing or strategy.When all these years,a fair
degree of coordination & exchange of ideas & thoughts
had taken place,attained success so far ,that stream or fountain cannot
dry up so soon.Let it be understood that enough inputs are given,
supplemented,discussed, &corrected .Legal process or strategy
cannot be equated with a running commentary as in cricket to be aired
every now & then ,but unassailable case laws,
logic,constitutional provisions,our own pension provisions etc are
weighed adequately & real plan & strategy gets
solidified after talks in-depth with Sr Counsel, which was also done
for quite some duration recently. Further to think & narrate
,using words like –lure, promising moon etc is sheer nonsense.Not even
an iota of suspicion or doubt can be embedded in minds & hearts
of pensioners,who voluntarily paid donations. All know how hard it is
to collect even yearly or life subscriptions ,or House Magazine which
perhaps none can boast except AIRIEF & we have a promising
Website airiefvision.wordpress.com,which
even at this age can educate,motivate & make us all endearing
& not inimical or dingdong hits,let alone donations.
Enough
progress & substantial elucidation,with so many valuable
inputs processed also absorbed emit optimism with realism on many counts
so assiduously & painstakingly prepared. AIRIEF never added
any unwanted aphorisms but truthfully defended the rationale &
logic of Twin Benefits & positive cascading effect of pension
revision with every wage revision. If this is promising moon, let that
be,but when one achieves the same, it ceases to be moon but down to
earth, which AIRIEF proclaims in theory & practice.Nobody is
left high & dry. Pathetic setback in dealing with CGH CCP need
not force any to shower profuse abuse. Nobody wishes failure.
Similarly,One upmanship or claiming illusory victory after talks with
LIC etc ,is actually a stab on the back & unworthy behaviour
to be outright condemned. Employees Assns do not want to lend support
to pensioners ,they shed crocodile tears,even as humans ,they can't be
humane, & never bold & courageous to fully support
pensioners demands & present jointly the demands of pensioners
with full justification.Till then, this ambivalence will continue with
each claiming victory or pooh-poohing efforts or downright criticism,
all of which are unfair & unjust.Rightly it was depicted as the
unkindest cut of all.
In
the land of the Mahatma & inimitable Abdul Kalam, let us not
throw mud, outright abuse Institutions which does productive work in
short,medium & long term for enveloping pensioners with many
benefits which lifts us all to a higher plane of existence as indeed a
free individual with dignified life & living in the twilight
of our lives. It is so difficult to form an Organisation of Senior
Citizens & run them efficiently.To castigate them with
epithets, so sarcastic & caustic is the height of stupidity,
more so at this critical juncture. AIRIEF which was the ONLY Pensioners
Fedn to take up anamolies & grotesque DR & Pension
differences cannot surrender these inviolable concepts which AIRIEF
can proudly display & even trumpet ,do not do injustice, AIRIEF
is here to ensure that 23 Sep 2015 or whatever , powerful arsenal of
arguments ,with pep & pride,with force &
vitality,less rhetoric & more substance, stress on HC,SC
utterances,ensure an enduring victory. Only SC Bench can garner the
truth of presentation with sincerity & purpose ,emphasising on
violation of Fundamental Rights in Constitution ,with adequate
sprinkling of vital paras & pages of Hon SJ Bhandaris
elucidation, while finally admitting BOTH Writs enabled Pensioners to
look beyond their nose,to use right brain creativity & to
convert dream into vision & sooner to Reality,which Hon SC
Bench shall ,as dispensers of justice & as the APEX
Court,atlast ,with Gods Will & Blessings,deliver fully in
favour of pensioners releasing them from bondage & freeing them
with such protracted litigation lingering & limping along
tragedy to a melodious & mellifluous comedy.
--------- R.B.KISHORE , VP,AIRIEF: 3/9/2015
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