PM Clears Air on OROP. Hunger Strike Over But Stir On: 10 Developments

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said servicemen who have taken early retirement will be eligible to receive the benefits of the One Rank One Pension scheme. But protesting ex-servicemen said they would call off the stir only after all their demands were met. They have called off the indefinite hunger strike for now. Here are the latest developments: Speaking at a rally in Faridabad, PM Modi said, "80 per cent people in the army work in junior posts, fight from the front lines and have to retire after 15 or 20 years... They will be among the first to get the benefits." Ex-servicemen who have been disabled in the line of duty will also get the benefits. "People are being misled about the government position on OROP and VRS," PM Modi said. At Delhi's Jantar Mantar, the 14 protesters who have been on indefinite hunger strike, were offered food. But Majo General (Retd) Satbir Singh, who is leading the ex-servicemen's association, said the stir will be on till all their demands were met. Thanking the Prime Minister for the clarity on early retirees, Satbir Singh said, "We will get back to hunger strike till death if the government does not approve our demands." The veterans demand pension equalisation every year, not every five years as announced by the government; 2014 as the base year for salary calculation instead of 2013 as suggested by the government; and they do not agree about the composition of the judicial board. The veterans, who have been protest for 88 days, said they were organising a rally, the Gaurav rally, on September 12. The government announced the long-awaited scheme on Saturday. But the veterans had sought a written statement. There has been also confusion over whether premature retirement rule would keep ex-servicemen out of the new benefits. Indicating the reason for the delay in implementation of OROP, PM Modi said the estimate of Rs 500 crore was a miscalculation by the previous government. "I went deeper into the issue. This is about Rs. 8,000 to Rs. 10,000 crore," he said. The nearly decade-long campaign says former army officers and soldiers must get the same pension as those of the same rank retiring now. Existing policy creates a huge disparity, with former officers getting far lower pension than those junior to them retiring later.