One Rank One Pension – ‘We Have No Faith in Parrikar’s statement’ – Veterans

One Rank One Pension – ‘We Have No Faith in Parrikar’s statement’ – “The minister has changed the goalposts and hence the veterans have no faith in this statement,” Major General Satbir Singh (retd), who has been spearheading the Indian ex-servicemen’s movement on the issue, told IANS.

The notification on One Rank One Pension scheme will be issued “within days” of the Bihar poll process coming to an end as the model code of conduct is currently in place, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Monday.

However, Armed forces veterans staging a protest in New Delhi to press their demand for ‘One Rank One Pension’ (OROP) said today that they have no faith in Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s statement that the OROP notification would be issued after the Bihar polls.

“The minister has changed the goalposts and hence the veterans have no faith in this statement,” Major General Satbir Singh (retd), who has been spearheading the Indian ex-servicemen’s movement on the issue, told IANS.

“Keeping in view the track record of the government and the minister on OROP implementation, we have no faith in this statement. This is just another statement. He has been changing the goalposts,” Mr Satbir Singh said.

When asked on Monday if it would be a Diwali gift to the protesting veterans,Mr.Parrikar said, “I am trying to have it before Diwali (November 11).”

However, the Veterans voiced a strong protest to the Defence Minister’s reply.

“He said it is a gift. What gift? It is our right… not a gift. We are very angry and aghast at the delay in (implementation of) an already sanctioned scheme,”Mr Satbir Singh said.

On Sunday, the veterans wrote a letter signed in blood to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“The government announcement on September 5 regarding OROP has seven serious shortcomings. If implemented without the removal of these shortcomings, it will kill the very definition of OROP which has been approved by two parliaments, strongly recommended by the Koshyari Committee and promised by you to ex-servicemen and armed forces personnel,” the letter said.

Source: NDTV