OROP: Ex-servicemen continue relay hunger strike
8 Sept 2015 6:11 AM IST
The veterans, who called off their fast-unto-death on Sunday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it clear that the armed forces jawans who have had to give up their jobs prematurely would be covered by OROP benefits announced by the government on Saturday, said, they are awaiting for a written order to come out on the OROP.
“The relay hunger strike and pan-India agitation will continue till all anomalies are resolved. We thank the government for finally declaring OROP after a wait of 42 days. This is only the beginning,” Col (Retd) Anil Kaul said.
Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement President Lt Gen (Retd) Balbir Singh said the core committee of the veterans will meet on Tuesday to decide the future course of action.“A one-member judicial commission will be appointed by the government in the coming days. We could take our grievances to the Commission. The final decision would be taken by the core committee on Tuesday,” Balbir said. Meanwhile, the protest by the veterans entered its 86th day on Monday. Chairman of the Indian Ex-servicemen Movement Maj Gen (Retd) Satbir Singh had on Sunday warned that ex-servicemen will be “forced” to resume their “hunger strike till death” if there was no satisfactory resolution of the pending issues by the government.
Wait for final order for clarity: Parrikar
With confusion surrounding who among the retirees will get the benefits of One Rank, One Pension, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday asked all those concerned to wait for the final order, which will "explain it properly".
"You have to wait for the final order (on OROP) which will come. Why is there so much excitement till then? The PM has made it amply clear that those who are being allowed to retire through proper procedure will not be (adversely) impacted. You need to wait for the exact wording," he told reporters on the sidelines of an Engineers' Conclave.
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