After military veterans, retired paramilitary officials will now hold a ‘dharna’ here tomorrow demanding One Rank One Pension (OROP) benefits and other privileges under the ex-servicemen category.
“Keeping in view the track record of the government and the minister on OROP implementation, we have no faith in this statement. This is just another statement. He has been changing the goalposts,” Mr Satbir Singh said.
The notification on One Rank One Pension scheme will be issued “within days” of the Bihar poll process coming to an end as the model code of conduct is currently in place, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Monday.
Agitated over the delay in notification to implement the one rank, one pension (OROP) scheme, announced by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on September 5, over 100 retired General Officers and senior Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) signed a petition in blood at Jantar Mantar here on Sunday to be submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The notification will be issued after Bihar election because I do not want to get notice by Election Commission,” he said.
The eminent lawyer, who had recently taken on the Prime Minister on the black money issue, described the handling of the OROP issue as “a case of cruel breach of faith, insulting and hurtful to those who lay down their life for the security and survival of India as a Vibrant free Nation”.
Over all, Voice of ESM Society, considers this meeting as path breaking and a giant step towards elimination of discrimination. Though no immediate results neither expected nor assured
A top defence source clarified today, “A government notification implementing ‘One Rank One Pension’ scheme may take another month”. “It can take 2-4 weeks more easily because it is quite an extensive issue,” the source added.