Ex-servicemen to boycott Parrikar’s visit to Mohali

A group of ex-servicemen on Monday announced that they will “boycott” Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s proposed visit here later this month and show him “black flags” in protest against the delay in implementation of “One Rank One Pension” by the Centre. United Front of Ex-Servicemen (UFESM) held a rally here to show solidarity with the fellow ex-servicemen, who have also been holding relay hunger-strike in various cities.

At the end of the rally, the veterans unanimously resolved to boycott the Defence Minister’s visit and show him black flags on July 25 when he is scheduled to inaugurate here the ?Mai Bhago Institute? for training of girls to join the Defence Services. They also sought issuance of notification for “One Rank One Pension” . “We defeated Pakistan, captured 93,000 prisoners and created a separate country (Bangladesh) in 13 days flat, but the Narendra Modi Government could not issue notification for implementation of ‘already approved’ OROP scheme, despite being in power for over 14 months,” said veteran Brigadier Harwant Singh (<g data-gr-id="12">Retd</g>).