Pro-BJP think tank Vivekananda International Foundation skewers government on ‘One Rank One Pension’

NEW DELHI: In a potentially embarrassing situation for the government, the director and three top military board members of Bharatiya Janata Party-leaning think tank Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) have come out strongly against the government for dragging its feet on ‘ One Rank One Pension’.

Leading the charge is former Army chief NC Vij, who took over as VIF director after Ajit Doval assumed charge as the national security adviser. Gen Vij is one of the signatories to the strongly worded letter by ex-Army chiefs to the PM earlier this week. “It (OROP) was accepted by the United Progressive Alliance and the present government has also promised it,” he told ET.

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“The PM himself has announced it (OROP) four times, starting at Rewari (before 2014 general elections) and just now on Independence Day. Wish he had stated a timeline when it would be implemented,” Gen Vij told ET.

VIF, it may be noted, has considerable clout within the government. Both NSA Ajit Doval and Principal Secretary to PM Nripendra Misra were associated with the think tank before taking up their current assignments. The foundation was the hub of BJP-backed anti-corruption movement against the UPA government, and helped provide a platform to stitch up an alliance with Baba Ramdev.

Several VIF members now hold important positions in the government, including former Defence Research & Development Organisation chief VK Saraswat, who is now a Niti Aayog member, and Prasar Bharati Chairman A Surya Prakash.

Former Air chief S Krishnaswamy, who is on the powerful advisory board of the think tank, has not signed the letter but voiced concern on the situation going out of hand. He urged the government to at least establish a channel of communication with the protesting veterans. “The PM is meeting everyone. So why not meet the veterans? The decisionmaker needs to communicate and tell them what is being planned,” he told ET.

Among other prominent members of the VIF advisory board who have written to the prime minister on the matter are former Army chiefs Shankar Roychowdhury and VN Sharma.

UNPRECEDENTED EVENTS

Gen Vij, who retired from service in 2005, said the events of August 14 — a clash between policemen and veterans — were unprecedented and have hurt the dignity of the soldier. Most ex-servicemen have relatives who are serving in the armed forces, he said. “They are naturally affected by all this. In today’s environment, everyone is watching, including the serving soldier.”

Krishnaswamy recalled the Air Force crisis of 1997, when protests on pay parity spilled on to the streets, with officers holding protest marches against higher salaries for fighter pilots. “It (1997) was a very serious situation. The opponents of our country were thrilled to see the morale of the services going down,” he said.

On Tuesday, a day after 10 former chiefs wrote a letter of protest to the PM, a reachout came from the PMO with Principal Secretary Nripendra Misra meeting a delegation of ex-servicemen.

Though there was headway at the talks, a decision was taken to continue the process and more meetings could take place, said sources. Meanwhile, Home Minister Rajnath Singh directed Delhi Police to apologise on Tuesday for roughing up veterans at the OROP protest venue on August 14. Singh directed the city police commissioner to reach out to the agitators and depute a senior official to issue an apology. As a result, Joint Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) MK Meena met the veterans and apologised.

At Jantar Mantar, where a protest has been on for over two months, three veterans are now on fast unto death demanding implementation of OROP. Officials of the United Front of Ex-Servicemen said efforts were on to dissuade them amid signs of a government reachout.

With its back against the wall, the government is relying heavily on established institutional channels through Army Chief Gen Dalbir Singh to work a way out of the logjam. In fact, the Army chief was the one who arranged the meeting between the veterans and Misra, sources said.