Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs General (retd) VK Singh on Monday assured ex-servicemen that the One Rank One Pension (OROP) will be implemented soon after a few technical difficulties are resolved, as he claimed that the BJP has high respect for Army personnel, serving or retired.
Singh said, “The OROP would be resolved soon since Prime Minister Narendra Modi has himself said that the demand has been accepted. Besides, the BJP always has high regards for Armymen. There are some technical difficulties being sorted out so that it won't get into any legal tangle.”
The Minister was here to take stock of the ongoing preparations for the World Hindi Conference scheduled to be held from September 10 to September 12.
He said that in 2011, when the scheme was being worked out, total expenses was calculated at about Rs 3,200 crore, but the Congress-led Government's policies were such that nothing happened.
“Now OROP will have an expenditure of more than Rs 8,000 crore,” the Minister said.
However, he said that it is not possible to give “any time frame” for implementing OROP. "I am of the opinion that India is a prosperous nation and capable of incurring this expenditure of Rs 8,000 crore," he added.
The MoS said that the Prime Minister himself had said in his "Mann Ki Baat" programme that he would ensure that the scheme won't get into legal trouble.
Referring to manhandling of retired defence personnel at Jantar Mantar by the Delhi Police, he said that soldiers are supposed to obey orders given to them. He blamed the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC)IJ which uprooted their tents and other paraphernalia. There was no need for retired defence personnel to stage protests since it can be sorted out only through discussions, he said.