With the impasse continuing over the “One Rank One Pension (OROP)” issue, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Friday “small” gaps were still required to be filled for its implementation.
Assuring veterans that the Government had agreed in principle to grant OROP, he also said the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) was “directly involved” in finding a
solution to the vexed issue as soon as possible.
His assurance came against the backdrop of veterans deciding to boycott golden celebrations of the 1965 war with Pakistan. President Pranab Mukherjee led the nation on Friday in paying homage to the martyrs by placing wreath at Amar Jawan Jyoti.
Asking for some more time to find an amicable solution to the much-awaited OROP, Parrikar said “the Government is working to fill in the small gaps” and the PMO
is “directly involved” in dealing with the issue.
“Now the small gaps are being filled. Give it some time for completion. In principle, the Prime Minister on August 15 (Independence Day Speech) has given his approval.
Now, the PMO is directly involved...Then by saying that do it in these many days will not help. All efforts are being made to solve the issue,” he said.
His statement did not go down well with the agitating veterans who said they are “disheartened.” They are also seeking an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “What Raksha Mantri said, I’m rather disheartened. He is now saying that there are gaps. He cannot say anything that is totally different than what was told to us all these days,” Maj Gen Satbir Singh (retired), Chairman of the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement said.
He said whatever the Government has offered till now is not acceptable. “Whatever they have finally offered is not acceptable to us. Yesterday (Thursday) what was told to us is nowhere close to the definition” that had been decided and accepted by Parliament,” he said.
Singh said ex-servicemen have rejected the Government’s offer to increase pension every five years instead of doing it annually. “They were saying it will be done after five years which is totally incorrect because it will defeat the very definition of OROP,” he said.
Seeking an appointment with Modi, Singh said veterans have faith in him and they will apprise the Prime Minister about correct position as the political leadership was given “incorrect” picture by the bureaucracy.
Asked if the veterans are going to give an ultimatum, he said they are soldiers and hence do not believe in giving ultimatums. “If Prime Minister says that give us another 1 or 2 days, 5 days, 1 week or 10 days... Anything but let him look into our eyes and say so,” Singh said.
Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag had met representatives of agitating ex-servicemen at his South Block office but there was “no forward movement,” they said.
Meanwhile, some veterans on Friday met Home Minister Rajnath Singh and urged him to impress upon the Government to implement OROP. The Home Minister gave them a patient hearing and assured them that necessary action would be taken by the Government, official sources said.
Officials said delay in implementing OROP is due to factors issues like the Government wanting 2011 to be the base year besides no three per cent annual increase. It also wants payment to begin from April 1, 2015, which has been rejected by the veterans. Currently, more than Rs 60,000 crore are paid annually as pension to ex-servicemen.
Close to 22 lakh retired servicemen and over six lakh war widows stand to be the immediate beneficiaries of the OROP, which envisages a uniform pension for the defence personnel who retire in the same rank with the same length of service, irrespective of their date of retirement.