The failure of the NDA government to implement the longstanding demand for one rank, one pension (OROP) in its first year has fanned deep resentment among ex-servicemen who have now decided to boycott official functions, hold rallies and go on hunger strikes in protest.
On Thursday, a 1971 war hero declined to attend a function in Pune where defence minister Manohar Parrikar and Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis were to felicitate him. Wing Commander SD Karnik (retd) decided to boycott the function as there was “no action, talk only” by the government on OROP.
The pension scheme is aimed at ensuring that retired soldiers of the same rank and the same length of service receive the same pension, irrespective of their date of retirement. The initial corpus of the scheme is estimated to around Rs 8,300 crore.
Various ex-servicemen groups were hoping that Prime Minister Modi would make an announcement about the implementation of OROP on May 25 during a rally in Mathura to mark the government’s first year in office. The OROP is expected to benefit close to 3 million defence pensioners.
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