OROP: Third soldier joins fast, PMO steps in, police say sorry

OROP: Third soldier joins fast, PMO steps in, police say sorry

As a third soldier joined his two colleagues on a fast-unto-death demanding One Rank One Pension (OROP) on Tuesday, a worried government reached out to the ex-servicemen and urged them to end the hunger strike.


And on the 65th day of the agitation on Tuesday, Delhi Police issued a formal apology for forcibly ending the ex-servicemen's protest in the city centre a day before Independence Day. 

It was the second day of an indefinite hunger strike by retired Colonel Pushpender Singh and former Havildar Major Singh when they were joined by another retired Havildar, Ashok Chauhan.

"When the government said it will implement OROP, why are they delaying it?" asked Pushpender Singh.

On Tuesday, Principal Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office, Nripendra Misra, met the veterans and urged them to call off the fast and to restore normalcy. 

"We told him that if there is a concrete assurance (on OROP's implementation), we will stop it," retired Lt. Gen. Balbir Singh, president of the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement, said.

Maj. Gen. Satbir Singh, who too was at the meeting, said: "We have sought an assured date for the implementation of OROP. It should be effective from April 1, 2014 as decided by the government."

When the official could not give the commitment, the Indian United Ex-Servicemen Front decided to go ahead with the fast.

"The fast unto death will continue. We will decide on our next move after August 23-24," Front spokesman Anil Kaul told IANS.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Sunday urged the ex-servicemen to wait till August 24 as he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

But the veterans, agitated over the August 14 police action and disappointed with the prime minister's Independence Day speech, decided to launch the protest fast.

Delhi Police apologised for its action against the ex-servicemen at Jantar Mantar and promised to "rectify" its mistake.

After meeting the retired soldiers, Joint Commissioner of Police Mukesh Kumar Meena told the media: "We respect the veterans." He spoke in the company of the protesters. 

"What happened on August 14 was due to some confusion and misunderstanding. We are with you. We will try to rectify our mistakes," Meena said. "We did not intend to hurt anyone."

On Friday, police tried to forcefully evict the protesting ex-servicemen, leading to scuffles. 

The home ministry intervened after an uproar and told the ex-servicemen that they would not be asked to leave the protest venue.

Around 24 lakh retired soldiers and some 6.5 lakh widows will benefit if OROP is implemented.

Currently, the pension for retired personnel is based on the Pay Commission recommendations of the time when he or she retired. So, a major general who retired in 1996 draws a lower pension than a Lt. Colonel who retired later. 

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ACB chief M K Meena with Ex-servicemen during their protest over the delay in implementation of ‘One Rank, One Pension’ (OROP) at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. (PTI Photo)

Stepping in to pacify agitating ex-servicemen over the ‘One Rank One Pension’ issue, Prime Minister’s Office today held talks with representatives of the protesters who have agreed not to escalate their agitation for next 10 days.

The meeting with Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary Nripendra Misra at the PMO came on a day when a third veteran joined the fast-unto-death at Jantar Mantar here, where the ex-servicemen have been protesting for 65 days demanding early implementation of OROP.

“We met Nripendra Misra in the morning. He stressed that normalcy should be restored. Asked what he meant by that, he said the fast-unto-death should be called off. We told him that if there is a concrete assurance, we will stop it,” Lt Gen Balbir Singh (Retd), President of Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement said.

He said that since a round of talks have already been held with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who had sought 10 days time to discuss the issue with Prime Minister, “there won’t be any escalation of protest for ten days”.

Meanwhile, Delhi Police apologised to the war veterans for its behaviour on the eve of Independence Day. Joint Commissioner of Police MK Meena assured the protesting ex-servicemen that such a thing would not happen in future.

While addressing a press conference at Jantar Mantra, Meena said, “August 14 incident will not be repeated. We are here to provide them security. We respect the Army men. It’s because of them we can roam freely.”

“On August 14, misunderstanding had taken place. We have discussed the issue in detail. At times some confusion takes place. We will try to take corrective action. I want to say that our intention was not to hurt the soldiers,” Meena, flanked by a number of ex-servicemen, told reporters.

He said Delhi Police respects the ex-servicemen and that it will ensure their protection.

“Whether they are in service or not, we respect them as they take care of external security. We are with you and this force will be for your service and not to control you. If there is any problem. If you have some problem, we will support you. We respect you,” the officer said.

Maj Gen Satbir Singh (Retd), who along with Lt Gen Balbir met Misra in the morning for an hour said they have made it clear that definition of OROP will remain the same.

“We have also sought an assured date for implementation of OROP and the date of effect will remain April 1, 2014 as was decided by the government,” Satbir said.

Col Anil Kaul (Retd), media advisor to United Front of Ex-Servicemen (UFESM), said Misra had stressed that the three who have gone on a fast-unto-death be requested to not go ahead.

“We told him that it was an individual decision and members are trying to pursue them to call off their fast,” he said.

Modi had on August 15 reiterated his government’s commitment towards the OROP but refrained from giving a time frame on its implementation.

The Centre has maintained that the scheme will be implemented as soon as the technical difficulties are resolved.

Yesterday, 10 former Service Chiefs had written to the Prime Minister pressing for expeditious resolution of the OROP issue.

The letter, signed by former Army chiefs V N Sharma, Shankar Roy Choudhary, S Padmanabhan, N C Vij, J J Singh, Deepak Kapoor and Bikram Singh, regretted that Modi did not announce implementation of OROP in his Independence Day address, dashing the hopes of ex-servicemen.

Former Navy chief Admiral Madhvendera Singh and former Air Force chiefs N C Suri and S P Tyagi were also signatories to the letter.