Sir,
It is sad that when the nation celebrated the golden jubilee of India’s victory in the Indo pak war of 1965, the veterans have been protesting at Janter Manter in New Delhi for more than two months. They are demanding one rank one pension which envisages a uniform pension for the defence personnel who retire in the same rank with the same length of service, irrespective of their date of retirement. According to reports appearing in the press,about 22 lakh retired servicemen and over six lakh war widows are likely to be benefitted if the scheme of OROP is implemented.
The Government has accepted the demand in principle and hopefully,some concrete solution will be worked out and the formal orders in this respect will be announced very soon. OROP was one of the election promises of the ruling party but the scheme has not been implemented so far triggering protests by the veterans some of whom have been hospitalised in view of the deterioration of their health. There is no doubt that our army officers and jawans lead a tough and hard life in performing their duty in extreme weather conditions; in scorching heat in deserts and in the bone chilling sub zero cold of Siachen glacier against heavy odds and in difficult terrains.They sacrifice their lives for guarding our borders and protecting our motherland. No amount of compensation can make up the loss of the life of Army officers and jawans in battle against the enemy or while fighting the terrorists trained and sent by our hostile neighbour in Kashmir and elsewhere to carryout subversive activities and kill innocent people.
Moreover, they retire at a much younger age than the employees serving in civil departments. Thus, the veterans, who have been protesting for about fourscore days, deserve a better deal.According to reports appearing in the press,the government has significantly narrowed down’ the gaps between the agitating ex-servicemen. So, it is high time the government resolved this vexed issue once and for all by conceding the demand of OROP, of course, within the ambit of fiscal norms. The veterans too ought to realise the government’s financial and other compulsions and extend their cooperation for hammering out a mutually acceptable solution to end the deadlock.
Yours etc….
Ashok Padha,
Near Railway Station, Chakrakhwal, Udhampur.
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