A 70-year-old Army veteran, who was on a relay hunger strike as part of the agitation for implementation of One Rank One Pension on Sunday collapsed on stage and was rushed to the Army hospital where his condition is said to be stable.
The protest by ex-servicemen at Jantar Mantar entered its 77th day.
Havildar Bal Singh was rushed to the Army Research and Referral Hospital after he fainted.
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The incident happened a day after the ex-servicemen wrote a letter to President Pranab Mukherjee, stating that he and the government would be held responsible if any untoward incident happened.
The government had last night said that it had ‘significantly narrowed gaps’ with the agitating veterans, but held out no concrete assurances.
Representatives of the veterans also held a meeting with Army chief Dalbir Singh Suhag at his house earlier on Sunday.
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“It was a routine meeting and nothing more. We met at his house,” Lt. Gen Balbir Singh (retd), president of Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement, told PTI .
Meanwhile, a group of Harley Davidson bikers from Delhi came to the spot riding their motorcycles to express solidarity.
Close to 22 lakh retired servicemen and over six lakh war widows stand to be the immediate beneficiaries of the scheme. — PTI.