Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said Rs. 5,500 crore has been allocated for implementing the OROP scheme, an issue that had been hanging fire for the last 40 years, even as he lauded the valour and sacrifice of the armed forces amid tension on the border with Pakistan.
Mr. Modi was celebrating Deepavali with Army and ITBP men in Sumdo in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district. Dedicating the festival to the armed forces personnel, he said he “fulfilled the promise” made to ex-servicemen on the One Rank, One Pension scheme.
“Spent time with our courageous @ITBP_official & Army Jawans at Sumdo, Kinnaur district, Himachal Pradesh. Jai Jawan! Jai Hind!,” he tweeted.
Earlier, in his monthly “Mann ki Baat” programme on All India Radio, Mr. Modi asked the people and the State governments to find ways of forging unity across the country and work to defeat separatist tendencies and mentalities.
He hailed the people including celebrities for sending overwhelming messages to his “Sandesh2Soldiers” campaign.
In the wake of the ongoing unrest in Kashmir Valley, he said: “Unity in diversity is our strength. It is the responsibility of every citizen and all governments to forge unity and curb separatist tendencies to save the country.”
Humbled by response to Sandesh campaign: PM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that there was an overwhelming response to his Sandesh2Soldiers campaign.
In his monthly “Mann ki Baat” programme on All India Radio, Mr. Modi said: “I had invited everyone to participate in the Sandesh2Soldiers campaign and I have been humbled by the response.
“From students, villagers and traders to political leaders and sportspersons, everyone has sent a Diwali message for our soldiers,” he said, while referring to the jawans who are stationed in deserts and on the icy heights of the Himalayas and security personnel who are guarding industries and airports.
“Unity in diversity is the strength of our country. Every citizen and every government must work to find ways of forging unity and defeating separatist mindset and tendencies,” he said as he remembered Sardar Patel who strived hard to forge unity in the country and bind it together.
The Prime Minister, while on his way back from Sumdo, met civilians at Himachal’s Chango village, close to the Sino-Indian border. He exchanged greetings, interacted with the people there, and offered sweets to children.
“Made unscheduled stop at Chango village, close to Somdu, to wish people on Diwali. Was deeply touched by the impromptu reception & their joy,” Mr. Modi tweeted.
“The Prime Minister spent time with ITBP jawans and personnel of Dogra Scouts of Army at Sumdo on border of Kinnaur and Spiti, and distributed sweets to them,” an official said.
Mr. Modi also met personnel of the General Reserve Engineering Force (GREF), a branch of Border Roads Organisation (BRO), entrusted with construction and maintenance of border roads and also executing the Rohtang Tunnel project, the official said.
After coming to power in 2014, the Prime Minister had celebrated his first Diwali with soldiers posted in Siachen, and in 2015, he celebrated it at the India-Pakistan border in Punjab.
On the One Rank One Pension issue, Mr. Modi said, “The OROP was not about just Rs. 200 crore or Rs. 500 crore, but Rs. 10,000 crore... After I became the PM, and decided that I had to do [implement] it, the entire government lost sleep over it... It was not possible for the government to pay in one go, so I requested the ex-servicemen to accept it in four instalments.
