NEW DELHI: Ugly scenes were witnessed at Jantar Mantar early on Monday after the Delhi Police evicted ex-servicemen from the site. The veterans were protesting against the diluted implementation of the One Rank One Pension scheme (OROP). The agitation then shifted to Parliament Street, from where the veterans were again forcibly evicted.
The Delhi Police swung into action following the October 8 order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) banning all protests at Jantar Mantar. The tribunal had suggested Ramlila Maidan as an alternative site for protests. “The municipal corporation of Delhi charges around Rs 50,000 per day for protests at Ramlila Maidan. Also, there are no toilets. The Ramlila Maidan also has four hospitals around it,” Group Captain (Retd) VK Gandhi, vice-chairman of the Indian Ex-servicemen Movement (IESM) said.
“We have been protesting peacefully at Jantar Mantar for the last 868 days. We have been requesting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who admitted on October 19 that the scheme was not as promised, to implement the scheme fully,” Gandhi said while adding that the protest at Jantar Mantar was continuing peacefully when the police came in and started manhandling them.
The veteran said the police destroyed the tents, stage and the platform that was being used by them. “The police mishandled a lady, who was forcibly taken to the police station. Two other protesters were also injured, one of whom is being treated at a nearby hospital,” he added.
Gandhi said their voices were being stifled and this is not the way a democracy must function.
According to a senior police official, the protesters were taken to the Parliament Street police station and later let off.