OROP issue: Govt shouldn't use Army chiefs to pacify us, say protesting veterans

New Delhi, Aug 27: Army veterans sitting over protest on One Rank One Pension (OROP) are disappointed with the incumbent Narendra Modi government and feel cheated.

Protesting at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, the ex-servicemen from Army are now claiming that the Centre even used chief of Army staff to calm the protesters.

"The Govt is using Army chief to persuade us to remain calm over long-standing demand of Armed Forces veterans' OROP. Every now and then, top officials from the Army are being asked by the Govt to give statements over OROP in an attempt to calm us.

But we want to send a clear message from this stage to the dispensation, that such ploys won't work," said an ex-serviceman while addressing the gathering at Jantar Mantar.

The veterans have already threatened to intensify their protest if their demands are not met soon. They have even cleared that they will boycott the events organised by the government to commemorate the Golden Jubilee celebration of India's 1965 war victory over Pakistan.

Earlier on March 14 this year, Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag said that the long-standing demand of OROP will be approved by April end. But that never happened and this further aggravated the anger of Army veterans.

The war veterans have been insisting that OROP has to be implemented with effect from April 2014, as was announced by the BJP government after it came to power. But government wants to implement it from April 2015.

Talking to OneIndia one of the veterans Dilbag Singh Dabas said, "We are asking the government to implement it from April 2014 as per their previous promise. If they will implement it from April 2015, it will hardly put an extra burden of Rs 300 crore if it is implemented from 2014."

The government is reportedly not ready to agree all the demands put forth by the veterans for it will open a pandora's box. Therefore, government is treading very carefully on the issue.

OneIndia News