NEW DELHI, July 3: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to announce the date of implementation of the One Rank One Pension scheme in his Independence Day address from the ramparts of the Red Fort, informed sources said.
The government has lined up several functions starting from August 28 to commemorate the 1965 war, which the nation fought successfully against Pakistan.
A solution to the OROP was being worked out to ensure the participation of war veterans during the celebrations, the sources said.
Ex-Servicemen bodies, on a relay hunger strike over the delay in the implementation of the OROP, had threatened to boycott all the official functions to mark the 1965 war.
“The 1965 war celebrations will be as per schedule and our veterans also participate,” the sources said, indicating that the issue of OROP implementation would be resolved before that. The ex-servicemen were disappointed after Mr Modi’s Mathura rally on completion of one year of his government as there were strong indications from official quarters that the Prime Minister was going to fulfil one of his major poll promises.
Mr Modi had reaffirmed his government’s commitment to implement the scheme for ex-servicemen but sought time to resolve its complexities. In one of his “Mann Ki Baat” speeches on All India Radio, Mr Modi had said OROP was “a complex issue, a vexed issue.
”You have been patient for 40 years. Give me some time to address it.” (UNI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel