Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 2: Supporting the cause of retired Military personnel who are agitating for “One Rank One Pension” (OROP), JKNPP Chairman and former minister Harsh Dev Singh has strongly flayed the Union Government for its inexplicable mounting delay in honoring the most genuine demand of Ex-servicemen who gave the valuable years of their life for defense of the nation.
Condemning the PM’s statement made by him in ‘Mann ki Baat’ on Sunday and appearing in a section of media, wherein he has stated that the OROP is a vexed issue and that politics is being played on it and that it would take time to simplify the issue, Harsh Dev observed that the Union Govt was merely resorting to delay and deny tactics. Justifying the demand of the Ex-servicemen, Mr Singh said that the BJP leaders need to refresh their memories and recollect their solemn pledges made during elections in 2014 for ensuring pension parity to defense personal who retire at the same rank and with the same length of service irrespective of their date of retirement.
Regretting the huge disparities existing between pensions on the basis of date of retirement, he said it was not only illogical and callous but also violative of constitutional guaranties. Clarifying, Mr Singh explained that a Major who retired before 1996 gets 53% less pension than a Major who retired after 2006. Likewise, a Brigadier who retired prior to 1996 gets much less pension than a Captain who left the force in recent years.
Observing that by delaying the OROP issue inordinately the Union Govt was not only discrediting itself but doing the greatest disservice to the soldiers who risked their lives to defend our borders, fought militancy and terrorism within the country, assisted in natural calamities, tsunami, earthquakes, floods, epidemics, countered Assembly and Parliament Attacks and even rescued people from bore wells when local administration had totally failed to deal with the internal crisis.
NPP leader said that it was in view of herculean task performed by the Defence personnel that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence recommended the implementation of `One Rank One Pension’ which had been persistently denied to the retired personnel.
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