Lack of clarity on one rank one pension confuses ex-servicemen

The non-implementation of one rank one pension (OROP) scheme for ex-servicemen, a prominent pre-poll promise of the one-year-old Modi government is turning into an Achilles' heel for it.

On Sunday, the issue took a new – and rather 'confusing' -- turn when in his eighth radio address to the nation 'Mann Ki Baat', Prime Minister Modi said that "this government will find a solution to the issue of one rank one pension."

The PM criticised those indulging in 

politics over the matter and said "problems" have been added to the issue over the years and effort was underway to simplify it and make it acceptable to all. "Is it not a fact that the question of 'one-rank, one pension' has not been hanging for the last 40 years? Is it not a fact that all the previous governments only talked but did nothing," Modi asked.

"I find it baffling," Major General Satbir Singh (retired), who is spearheading the OROP campaign as the chairman of Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM) told dna. "After announcing a hundred times that OROP will be implemented, the government has failed to explain the delay and now the PM is saying he will find a solution. Can he first explain to us the problem?" he asked adding that in the last six months, IESM has sought a meeting with the PM at least five times but to no avail.

The implementation of OROP will mean same pension for every pension eligible armed forces personnel with same rank and same length of service irrespective of when he retires. Close to 22 lakh ex-servicemen, and over six lakh war widows stand to be the immediate beneficiaries of the scheme for which an amount of Rs 8300 crores has been earmarked.
While there has been no official clarification from government on why the scheme is delayed, sources in the defence ministry said that the OROP file is lying with the finance ministry for a final budgetary approval. Further, reportedly, the government is also apprehending similar demands by the para -- military forces once the OROP is rolled out for defence services.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has repeatedly said that the government has completed all formalities and OROP will be implemented soon. "From December last, we have met Parrikar four times and every time, he said it would be implemented in a week or so," Singh said.

On March 14, addressing ex-servicemen , Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag too said at Jhajjar in Haryana that OROP would be approved latest by April 30.

The wrath against PM Modi and his government is growing among the ex-servicemen. On September 15, 2013, in his first rally at Rewari in Haryana, after becoming BJP's PM candidate , Modi, flanked by former army chief General VK Singh, who is now a minister in his cabinet, and veterans like Singh had promised OROP after coming to power.

Lieutenant General SK Bahri (retired) said that "Ex-servicemen voted en bloc for Modi since he had given hopes. If we were told that Modi's promise had to be taken with a pinch of salt, we would not have been so disappointed," he said.

The IESM has declared a protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on June 14. "We will go on relay hunger strike. We will sit on dharnas outside Chief Ministers' offices and Governors' residences in all state capitals. We will take the protest to district headquarters if OROP is not implemented," Singh said.

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