BJP national secretary Tarun Chugh on Sunday slammed Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi for leading a misinformation campaign on one rank one pension (OROP) even after a historic announcement of implementation of OROP by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“This is being done to hide the embarrassment the Congress is facing for not implementing the OROP during last 10 years of their misrule,” he said.
Chugh said that though the Congress was trying its best to hide its failure under the criticism of Modi Government, now not only soldiers but even civilians know that the Congress kept on blackmailing the soldiers for political gain and did nothing to resolve the issue. They only kept on trying the time-tested Congress formula of lingering on the issues, he said.
“It only needed a Prime Minister like Narendra Modi to resolve an issue of such a magnitude as it not only involved a staggering amount but also the dignity of millions of soldiers who protected the honour and dignity of the country not caring about their lives and families,” said Chugh.
Blasting Congress for its “unnecessary criticism”, Chugh said that instead of hailing the much awaited decision, Congress was playing petty politics on an issue of great national importance and interest.
He reminded Congress that it was during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s tenure that a cut was announced in the pensions of soldiers in 1973. He said that Congress cheated on soldiers by announcing constitution of several panels to resolve the issue.
Chugh also hailed Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar for having announced that the four-decade-old issue was over and that the OROP would be implemented from July 1, 2014.
Announcing to release over Rs 10,000 crore for implementation of OROP does not only mean that the OROP issue stands resolved once for all, but also means that Prime Minister Modi would be fulfilling the promises he had made to each and every section of the people.