Ex-servicemen hold OROP rally in Mumbai

MUMBAI: Ex-servicemen today protested against the delay in issue of official notification by the government to 'one rank one pension' ( OROP) scheme as announced by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in September.

The ex-servicemen, under the banner of United Front of Ex-Servicemen Movement (UFESM), held a rally at Azad Maidan here today.

Chairman of Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM) Maj Gen (retd) Satbir Singh addressed the rally which was aimed at making people aware of what several veterans feel is an active attempt by the government to water down the scheme, an IESM spokesperson said.

"Rallies are being held across the country to make people aware of the machinations of the babus-netas who have relentlessly denied OROP to veterans after withdrawing it in 1973, within 18 months of the 1971 war victory," he said.

The government's declaration on September 15 had several shortcomings that would kill the very idea of OROP.

Despite the announcement, there had been no official government notification for the scheme, he said.

Objecting to the government's proposal to revise pensions after every five years, he said, by definition, OROP means an annual increase in pension and the veterans feel that a five-yearly revision will defeat the purpose of the scheme.

On October 25, several retired officers and senior Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs), under the banner of the UFESM, signed a petition in blood at Jantar Mantar in Delhi which was to be submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The petition demanded early implementation of OROP and the group expressed apprehensions that the government's intention was not to give them the actual OROP.