NEW DELHI: The deadlock between the government and ex-servicemen over conditions to implement One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme has made it unlikely that there would be an early announcement about its implementation this week.
Chairman of the Indian ex-servicemen movement Major General Satbir Singh has accused the government of attempting the dilute the provisions and go back on its assurances. “We are sad that the government wants to dilute the approved definition of OROP and wants to break the assurance they had given us earlier,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
He was referring to the talks held at the residence of Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday night.
“We will continue meeting if the government were to call us again and try to find out ways,” Major General Singh said.
Earlier in the day, the agitating ex-servicemen had a two-hour meeting with the Chief of Army Staff Dalbir Singh.
During the talks, the government and the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM) were at loggerheads over the former’s proposal that 2011 should be the base year and payments should begin from April 2015, rather than April 2014. The government also did not want a three per cent annual increase.
“We think the government doesn’t want to give us the OROP on the proposed conditions and we will not accept it without those conditions. People are determined and want to continue the strike till the government meets the demands,” Major General Singh said.
He added that the ex-servicemen had requested for a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, through Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, but there has been no response so far. The deadlock could impact plans for an early announcement of OROP, which was speculated to take place on August 28, the 50th anniversary of the 1965 Indo-Pak War.