As many as 1,000 ex-servicemen staged a demonstration outside Sir Puttannachetty Town Hall here on Sunday demanding implementation of the ‘one rank one pension’ scheme.
Under the ‘one rank, one pension’ scheme, uniform pension will be paid to the armed forces personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service, irrespective of their date of retirement; and, any future enhancement in the rates of pension will be automatically passed on to the past pensioners.
Ex. Sgt. M. Prabhakaran, Karnataka State convenor, Armed Forces Veterans’ Association of India, said: “Though we have many other demands, the protest on Sunday had just one demand – immediate implementation of ‘one rank one pension’. It is a long-standing demand and we are hopeful that it would be implemented by the NDA government as was promised,” he said.
Despite the recommendations of the Koshyari Committee, the government has failed to implement it. Ex. Sgt. Prabhakaran said that in September 2013, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Narendra Modi had promised to implement ‘one rank one pension” scheme and had even demanded White Paper from the previous UPA government. Stating that the government cannot renege on its commitment, the ex-servicemen said that the protest was their way of expressing disappointment with the inordinate delay in implementation of the scheme.
