PTI/ IANS
NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 6
Welcoming the government’s decision to implement OROP, agitating ex-servicemen today announced withdrawal of their hunger strike but decided to continue their protest till all the “sticky” issues are resolved. The ex-servicemen said revision of pension after a gap of five years as announced by the government is not at all acceptable to them, besides appointment of a one-man judicial commission to examine various aspects of one rank-one pension (OROP). Addressing a press conference here, Maj Gen (Retd) Satbir Singh, leader of the association leading the agitation, said the protest will continue till four specific points raised by the ex-servicemen are not accepted by the government. “We urge all those who are on hunger strike to withdraw it as the PM has clarified on the issue of premature retirement. But our protest will continue till the government accepts four points raised by us,” he said.
He said ex-servicemen may resume hunger strike again if the government fails to resolve the pending issues. “We thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for fulfilling the promise of one rank-one pension. We thank the defence minister but there are four issues to be resolved including the period of equalisation of pension,” Singh said. The veterans, who have been pressing for one rank-one pension (OROP) for four decades, yesterday won a partial victory with the government announcing that it would implement it, but the veterans rejected the decision and decided to continue their agitation. The issue of whether the scheme would cover ex-servicemen who have taken premature retirement had emerged as a major sticking point. They met Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar yesterday and later said his clarification in this regard was “satisfying”.
OROP applicable to soldiers who retired prematurely: Prime Minister Narendra Modi
FARIDABAD
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said soldiers who retired prematurely will benefit from the implementation of the ‘One Rank One Pension’ scheme.
Modi addressed a rally - Gati Pragati - on the inauguration of Badarpur-Mujesar Delhi Metro Line here in Haryana and said soldiers who quit their jobs due to medical disability will be able to avail the benefits of OROP.
“Some people think that soldiers who left service after working for 15 to 17 years will not be covered under OROP. It is wrong,” he said.
He said personnel who suffered physical injuries and had to consequently leave the force will not be left out of the ambit of OROP.
“We have promised to implement OROP for people who live and die for the country,” he said.
Several retired army officers expressed their gratitude to Modi for the implementation of OROP. Modi said that about 80 per cent of the benefits of OROP would be available to the soldiers of other ranks such as havildar, naik and sepoy.
He said a significant proportion of soldiers were from Haryana and, therefore, the announcement of OROP would contribute significantly to Haryana’s economy.
Recalling his promise at Rewari in a rally September 15, 2013 of delivering ‘One Rank One Pension’, Modi said the government had fulfilled its promise.
He criticised previous governments for not doing anything on the issue and said:
“Those who didn’t do anything for 40 years have no right to speak on behalf of jawans.”
He said his government closely examined how much the OROP will cost to the exchequer and found that the costs would be Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 crore.
The prime minister said his government began working on the issue since it assumed office in May last year.
Among those present at the event were Haryana Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki, Chief Minister Manohar Lal, and union Ministers M. Venkaiah Naidu, Birender Singh, Rao Inderjit Singh, Krishan Pal Gujjar and Babul Supriyo.
