Ex-servicemen protesting for One Rank One Pension at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Tuesday. PTI
New Delhi, August 18
Stepping in to pacify agitating
ex-servicemen over the ‘One Rank One Pension’ issue, the Prime Minister’s
Office on Tuesday held talks with representatives of the protesters who have
agreed not to escalate their agitation for next 10 days.
The meeting with Prime Minister’s
Principal Secretary Nripendra Misra at the PMO came on a day when a third
veteran joined the fast-unto-death at Jantar Mantar here, where the
ex-servicemen have been protesting for 65 days demanding early implementation
of OROP.
“We met Nripendra Misra in the
morning. He stressed that normalcy should be restored. Asked what he meant by
that, he said the fast-unto-death should be called off. We told him that if
there is a concrete assurance, we will stop it,” Lt Gen Balbir Singh (Retd),
President of Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement told PTI here.
He said that since a round of talks
have already been held with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who had sought
10 days time to discuss the issue with Prime Minister, “there won't be any
escalation of protest for ten days”.
Maj Gen Satbir Singh (retd), who
along with Lt Gen Balbir met Misra in the morning for an hour, said they have
made it clear that definition of OROP will remain the same.
“We have also sought an assured date
for implementation of OROP and the date of effect will remain April 1, 2014 as
was decided by the government,” Satbir told PTI.
Col Anil Kaul (retd), media adviser
to United Front of Ex-Servicemen (UFESM), said Misra had stressed that the
three who have gone on a fast-unto-death be requested to not go ahead.
“We told him that it was an
individual decision and members are trying to pursue them to call off their
fast,” he said.
PM Modi had on August 15 reiterated
his government's commitment towards the OROP but refrained from giving a time
frame on its implementation.
The Centre has maintained that the
scheme will be implemented as soon as the technical difficulties are resolved.
Yesterday, 10 former Service Chiefs
had written to the Prime Minister pressing for expeditious resolution of the
OROP issue.
The letter, signed by former Army
chiefs VN Sharma, Shankar Roy Choudhary, S Padmanabhan, NC Vij, JJ Singh,
Deepak Kapoor and Bikram Singh, regretted that Modi did not announce
implementation of OROP in his Independence Day address, dashing the hopes of
ex-servicemen.
Former
Navy chief Admiral Madhvendera Singh and former Air Force chiefs N C Suri and S
P Tyagi were also signatories to the letter. — PTI
