NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was in favour of granting 'One Rank, One Pension' (OROP) to ex-servicemen but pressure was exerted on him by his cabinet colleagues on the issue, legal luminary Ram Jethmalani today claimed even as he launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Jethmalani,
a supporter-turned-critic of Modi and a former BJP leader, said apart
from failing to deliver on his electoral promise of bringing back black
money stashed abroad, Modi has not been able to deliver on the OROP issue.
Ex-servicemen have been staging protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi for the past 176 days demanding OROP.
"There
is no other person better than the Defence Minister (Parrikar) to give
OROP as he was in favour of our demand. But ultimately he was
pressurised by corrupt people in Cabinet.
"The
government has reduced OROP to writing. I am ashamed to say that after
having committed to give OROP, the Prime Minister says that he has not
understood the issue," the noted lawyer said at a press conference
organised by ex-servicemen at Jantar Mantar.
When asked
about the agitation's future course of action, Jethmalani, who is giving
legal support to the movement, refused to elaborate further. "There is
no need to go to court. The Bihar
electoral lesson has taught him a lesson and Modi is not ready for any
such defeats. I am not going to spell out my legal strategy," he said.
Jethmalani,
who has been a vocal critic of the government over the black money
issue, also claimed that Germany had a list of around 1,400 names,
majority of which were Indians, but the government did not approach the
country for the list.
"The Germans say India is yet to approach them for the list," he said.
Meanwhile,
the protesting veterans have announced a 'Sainik Akrosh Rally' at
Jantar Mantar on December 13 to press their demand for implementation of
OROP.
The United Front of Ex-Servicemen (UFESM), an
umbrella organisation spearheading the protest, has also recommended
Justice R M Lodha to chair the one-man judicial commission to look into
the concerns of the veterans.
The government came out
with a notification on OROP on November 7 but the veterans still remain
unsatisfied. They have demanded that OROP should be implemented from
April 1, 2014 and not July 1, 2015 as in the government notification.
"OROP principle is in perpetuity and cannot be fiddled with. The Seventh Central Pay Commission is over and above the OROP.
"Soldiers
taking pre-mature retirement after November 7 will not be entitled for
the OROP, which is not good for the armed forces as this will result in
old army and a war cannot be fought with army of old soldiers. This
clause should be removed," Major General (retd.) Satbir Singh, Chairman
of UFESM, said.
