Punjab Posted at: Nov 11 2015 1:44AM
Ex-servicemen return their medals to Deputy Commissioner KK Yadav in Jalandhar
on Tuesday. Tribune Photo: Malkiat Singh
Tribune News Service, Jalandhar, November 10
Around 200 ex-servicemen today returned their medals to Deputy Commissioner Kamal Kishore Yadav on the eve of Diwali to protest the notification of One Rank One Pension (OROP) in its diluted form. The medals are to be sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office.
“Till now, we were fighting for ourselves, but now we will stand up for our serving counterparts,” said Brig (retd) AS Minhas, vice-president, United Ex-Servicemen Front, and Punjab chapter.
The government on Saturday formally notified OROP for the over 24 lakh ex-servicemen and six lakh widows around the country that is expected to cost another Rs 8,000-10,000 crore every year.
The notification was almost identical to what Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar announced on September 5, except for the provision that military personnel, who had earlier opted for premature retirement, would get OROP, but fresh candidates would be kept out of its ambit.
After returning the medals, Col (retd) Balbir Singh, secretary of the body, said, “We are returning these hard-earned awards because we want the government to review its notification. I hope the government pays heed to our demands.”
He further alleged the government had not resolved any of the seven main anomalies pointed out by them, adding the government did not accept their case for “pension equalisation or adjustment” every year.
Ex-Servicemen today also condemned the statement of Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, who asked them to accept OROP in its present form.
Raha, who is also the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, said on Monday that all veterans should accept OROP and if anomalies persisted, they could be sorted out in due course of time.
Brig (retd) SS Sandhu said the government and the bureaucracy was going against the financial interests of the defence forces and also lowering their status.
“Despite making repeated assurances in their election manifesto, no government has ever stood up to fight for the rights of the armed forces. Since the present form of OROP will mainly affect serving personnel, the service chiefs should come forward to safeguard the financial interests of their personnel,” said Brig Sandhu.
The veterans have also condemned the Centre’s move of asking a single member commission to review the implementation of OROP.
They have demanded that ex-servicemen be part of the commission. The veterans across the region will hold a Maha Sangram rally on November 15 to raise the issue.
[ Tribune ]
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