Military veterans want President to intervene on OROP

NEW DELHI: Angry military veterans on Saturday sought President Pranab Mukherjee’s direct intervention in their ongoing stir against the NDA government’s continuing failure to implement the much-promised one rank, one pension (OROP) scheme.
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In a letter to the President, which has also been sent to the PMO and defence minister Manohar Parrikar, the veterans on their 76th day of dharna at Jantar Mantar said the government would be “solely responsible” if any “damage or mishap happens” to those on hunger strike.
A series of meetings between the veterans and government representatives like Parrikar, home minister Rajnath Singh, PM’s Principal Secretary Nripendra Misra and Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag this month has so far failed to break the deadlock.
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The main stumbling block is the veterans’ demand for “pension equalization” at least once every two years, while the government is ready for “adjustment” only at five-year intervals. Another sticking point is the date of OROP implementation, with the veterans remaining steadfast about it being effective from April 2014, as they were promised earlier. From an earlier position of April 2015, the government has now come down to September 2014 for OROP implementation.
The veterans requested Mukherjee to instruct the government to implement OROP as per the defence ministry’s letter dated February 26, 2014. “OROP stands approved both by the previous UPA as well as the present NDA government. However, its implementation has not been carried out so far for the reason best known to your government,” they said.
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The veterans said there are some issues, like pensions of military veterans, where financial cost cannot be the sole determinant factor. As earlier reported by TOI, grant of full OROP for the 25 lakh veterans in the country from April 2014 will mean an additional annual cost of at least Rs 8,300 crore as pension.
Noting that four veterans on hunger strike had already been hospitalized, the letter to Mukherjee said the health of another ex-serviceman Havildar (retd) Major Singh, on an indefinite fast since August 16, was fast deteriorating.
“The panel of doctors has declared his medical condition has deteriorated to dangerous levels and he needs to be hospitalized immediately to save his life,” it said. But Major Singh is steadfast that he will not agree to being hospitalized and take any medical treatment till OROP is implemented as per the approved definition. “He, however, has been sent to the hospital for detailed check-ups,” said a veteran.
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