Bhagat Singh Koshyari on OROP : Where is discipline? Veterans behaving like labour unions:
Bhagat Singh Koshyari, former Uttarakhand Chief Minister and veteran of the BJP and RSS who submitted his committee's report on OROP in December 2011 to the Parliament, today broke his silence in an exclusive interview and lashed out at veterans for the poor manner in which they, in his opinion, had conducted themselves.
Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister and veteran of the BJP and RSS Bhagat Singh Koshyari
Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister and veteran of the BJP and RSS Bhagat
Singh Koshyari
He is one politician whose name emerges on every occasion when there is a
discussion on vexed issue of One Rank One Pension (OROP). As the protesting
veterans and representatives of the government lock horns, it is definition of
OROP framed by this veteran, in his earlier stint in Rajya Sabha, which lies at
the heart of the battle. When Bhagat Singh Koshyari, former Uttarakhand Chief
Minister and veteran of the BJP and RSS submitted his committee's report, in
December 2011 to the Parliament, it was hailed for its pro-soldier stand in
support of OROP. Today, he broke his silence in an exclusive interview and
lashed out at veterans for the poor manner in which they, in his opinion, had
conducted themselves.
Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister and veteran of the BJP and RSS Bhagat Singh Koshyari
Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister and veteran of the BJP and RSS Bhagat
Singh Koshyari
He is one politician whose name emerges on every occasion when there is a
discussion on vexed issue of One Rank One Pension (OROP). As the protesting
veterans and representatives of the government lock horns, it is definition of
OROP framed by this veteran, in his earlier stint in Rajya Sabha, which lies at
the heart of the battle. When Bhagat Singh Koshyari, former Uttarakhand Chief
Minister and veteran of the BJP and RSS submitted his committee's report, in
December 2011 to the Parliament, it was hailed for its pro-soldier stand in
support of OROP. Today, he broke his silence in an exclusive interview and
lashed out at veterans for the poor manner in which they, in his opinion, had
conducted themselves.
In remarks which may irk the protesting veterans, the septuagenarian at his
Lodhi Estate residence in the heart of New Delhi said, "May be some in the
agitation are thinking just because the government is listening to them they
should squeeze out as much as possible. Greed may be playing a part. I can't
rule out that there may be political motivations to this issue as well after
all a party has ruled for six decades almost and we didn't see such things and
this government is barely a year old and you are upping the ante in this
form!" The protesting veterans have maintained that their agitation is
apolitical and had in fact disallowed Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi when he tried to address
them at Jantar Mantar on August 14. "They say once a soldier, always a
soldier. Discipline is their defining attribute. Yet see how they are
conducting them selves. If they continue like this, like how ordinary people or
labour unions do, I can only say they will end up damaging the stature of the
armed forces," he added.
According to him the government had walked more than '99 per cent' on its
promise. "Need for showing flexibility and open mindedness is now for the
protesters. A great soldier always knows that sometimes he may have to retreat
to get to his main goal," he said.
While the protesting veterans have more than once alleged that the
bureaucrats have undone the OROP, Koshyari confirmed this. "When we were
listening to all stakeholders over OROP, we did come across strong opposition
from large number of government employees, including senior bureaucrats.
However we over-ruled them in favour of our soldiers because OROP is needed,"
he said.
According to Koshyari, the prevailing impasse is only and only because of
the 'rigidity displayed by the ex-servicemen'. "I have no advice to give
to the government. Both the PM and Defence Minister want it and bureaucracy is
no longer a hurdle. Re-think over the issue is required by the veterans. They
should withdraw," he concluded.
What was the Koshyari committee and what did it say on OROP?
From 2010, Rajya Sabha Committee on Petitions deliberated on the issue of
granting OROP to armed forces and submitted its report on December 19, 2011.
While it was chaired by Koshyari, it consisted of nine more members
including Ram Vilas Paswan, Nandi Yellaiah, Rajeev
Shukla, Avinash Pande, Bal Apte, P Rajeeve, Veer Pal Singh Yadav, Paul Manoj
Pandian and Rajaram. It went through over 200 submissions from different
organizations including the armed forces. Among its findings:
- Finance Ministry's concern that if granted to armed forces, OROP may be
sought by other govt employees was unconvincing
- Unconvinced by the hurdles which the MoD portrayed existed in the
implementation of OROP
- Decision of third pay commission to bring down the pay and pension of
armed forces on the pattern of civilians was not a considered decision
- OROP should be implemented at the earliest
- Separate commission should look into the issues of pay and pension of the
armed forces
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