Special Correspondent, New Delhi.
Veterans under the banner of Indian
Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM) who have been protesting for the full
implementation of the One Rank, One Pension scheme, said Prime Minister
Narendra Modi had gone back on his promise"
Till Deepavali, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi kept saying that they have given OROP. Then in Gurez
he said only two instalments were given. He has accepted that what was
announced is not OROP. We are unhappy that the PM has not kept his
promise. We have been on the
road. We appeal to the PM that he
announce the removal of anomalies in OROP so we can move from here,"
Major Gen. Satbir Singh (retd), Chairman of IESM, said on Sunday,
speaking at a rally at Jantar Mantar in the national capital.
Celebrating Deepavali with
jawans in the Gurez sector of Jammu and Kashmir earlier this month, Mr. Modi
had said the government had given OROP which had been stuck for 40
years, and added that two instalments have been given and the third would be
completed soon.
OROP implies uniform pension
to personnel based on rank and length of service, irrespective of the date
of retirement. It was one of the key election promises of the BJP in
the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls in 2014. However, with the delay in
announcement by the government, ex-servicemen began protests in
2015. The government issued the formal notification implementing OROP on
November 7, 2015 and the arrear were to be given in four
instalments.
While most veterans' groups
welcomed the announcement, a section of them under IESM rejected it, saying
it was incomplete and deviated from the accepted definition as
approved by the Parliament.
Mr. Singh said the veterans
were in anguish and felt betrayed. " He (PM) has not kept the assurance
given. Please implement OROP and do not downgrade forces," he said.
A report by a one-man judicial panel has not been made public so far.
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( Chennai city edition of The Hindu,
Monday, October 30, 2017 )
Courtesy : MPS
Posted: 29 Oct 2017 12:56 AM PDT
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