Stepping up pressure on the Government on the issue of “One Rank, One Pension (OROP)”, ten former Services Chiefs on Monday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to fulfil their long-pending demand without any further delay. They also demanded action against policemen involved in manhandling agitating veterans at Jantar Mantar on August 14.
The letter comes on a day when two of the agitating ex-servicemen Colonel Pushpender Singh and Havildar Major Singh went on fast-unto-death. The agitators are on a relay hunger protest since June 21 demanding the OROP. Havildar Major Singh has been on hunger strike since then.
On the eve of the Independence Day, Delhi policemen along with staff members of New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) tried to evict the ex-servicemen citing security issues. The cops also misbehaved and manhandled some veterans. But a directive from the Home Ministry later allowed them to carry on with their protest.
In the letter, the chiefs said, “We stand steadfastly by the side of our colleagues and fully support their just cause. Our silence so far was due to the need to observe propriety. The indiscretion on the part of the police has seriously impacted the pride and morale of all ranks of the three services and the veterans.”
The letter was signed by General VN Sharma, Admiral Madhvendera Singh, Air Chief Marshal NC Suri, General Shankar Roy Choudhary, Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi, General S Padmanabhan, General NC Vij, General JJ Singh, General Deepak Kapoor and General Bikram Singh.
Voicing dismay over reluctance of the political leadership to implement the OROP, the former Service Chiefs said the scheme should be implemented within a definite time frame as any further delay will lower the morale of the armed forces. The unprecedented step by the ten former Service Chiefs comes two days after Modi reiterated from Red Fort that the Government has accepted the OROP in principle and that talks are in final stages.
The letter also stated, “We had earlier not approached the Prime Minister as we had full faith in the announcements made by our senior political leadership from time-to-time. We were also hopeful that the announcement of the implementation of the OROP would be made to the nation on Independence Day. Regrettably this has not happened.”
The letter also said, “We have full faith in our political leadership but their inability to clinch the issue leaves us dismayed. We stand steadfastly by the side of our colleagues and fully support their just cause.”
The former Service Chiefs said that definition of OROP was: uniform pension to be paid to the Armed Forces retiring in the same rank with same length of service irrespective of their date of retirement.
They added that the then Defence Minister after consultations with the Services Headquarters representatives, veterans and Defence Ministry officials had approved a Rs 8,300-crore model in February 2014 based on formula of maximum pension date for each rank and service as on Financial Year 2014.
“The often quoted technical difficulties without ever being specified and discussed are thus bewildering. This is simple arithmetic based on the Standard Pension Tables of the Government. These delays are construed to be only with a view to bring in changes in the parameters and dilute the entitlements, which will be grossly unjust and unacceptable,” the letter added.
Stressing that they were perturbed by the highhanded treatment of veterans on August 14 at Jantar Mantar, they said the ex-servicemen were on a peaceful demonstration at this venue and trying to make the government hear their voice since June 12.
“These veterans are the same soldiers, who have displayed unflinching loyalty towards the Constitution and the nation during their service and still remain motivated to die for a noble cause. Unfortunately their dignity and pride today stand scarred and is a cause for serious concern,” the letter read.
Incidentally, four former Chiefs, including General S Rodrigues, Admiral Arun Prakash, Admiral Sureesh Mehta and Admiral l Ramdas had also written last week to President Pranab Mukherjee seeking his intervention in implantation of ROP at the earliest.