Veterans under the banner of Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM), who have been protesting for full implementation of the One Rank, One Pension scheme, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had gone back on his promise.
Gurez announcement
“Till Diwali, Prime Minister Narendra Modi kept saying that they have given OROP. Then in Gurez he said only two instalments were given. He has accepted that what was announced is not OROP. We are unhappy that the PM has not kept his promise. We have been on the road. We appeal to the PM that he announce the removal of anomalies in OROP so we can move from here,” Maj. Gen Satbir Singh (retd), Chairman of IESM, said on Sunday, speaking at a rally at the Jantar Mantar in the national capital.
Celebrating Diwali with jawans in Gurez sector of Jammu and Kashmir earlier this month, Mr. Modi had said the government had given OROP which has been stuck for 40 years and added that two instalments have been given and the third would be completed soon.
OROP implies uniform pension to personal based on rank and length of service and irrespective of the date of retirement. It was one of the key election promises of the BJP in the run up to Lok Sabha polls in 2014. However, with the delay in announcement by the government, ex-servicemen began protests in 2015. The government issued the formal notification implementing OROP on November 7, 2015 and the arrears were to be given in four instalments.
While most veterans’ groups welcomed the announcement, a section of them under IESM rejected it, saying it was incomplete and deviated from the accepted definition as approved by the Parliament.
He said the veterans were in anguish and felt betrayed. “He [PM] has not kept the assurances given. Please implement OROP and do not downgrade forces,” he added. Meanwhile, a report by one-man judicial commission on OROP has not been made public so far.
