Anna Hazare joins protest over delay in OROP, says mere assurance from Modi government not enough

New Delhi: On 16th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas, social activist Anna Hazare on Sunday joined ex-servicemen's protest against delay in the implementation of One Rank One Pension scheme. The Gandhian hit out the Narendra Modi government for not fulfilling its promise of giving soldiers their due.

Addressing war veterans and martyrs' families at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, Hazare said, "Mere assurance from the government is not enough. We need to see OROP implemented. The NDA thinks that their promise to implement OROP is enough."

The anti-corruption crusader also hit out at the government over the non-functioning of Parliament and said, "The public money is being wasted as Parliament isn't functioning for the last five days. Politicians get Rs 50,000 a month and a widow gets a paltry amount Rs 3,000. Veterans can't live with dignity and are being denied a fair pension."

The septuagenarian activist has also threatened to agitate in the all states till the scheme is implemented. Hazare has already announced launching an indefinite fast on October 2 in Delhi over the Land Bill and to press for OROP.

One Rank One Pension scheme has been a long-standing demand of nearly 3 million ex-servicemen and war widows in the country. It seeks to ensure that a uniform pension is paid to defence personnel who retire at the same rank with the same length of service, irrespective of their date of retirement.

Reaching out to ex-servicemen, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had during a Lok Sabha election rally in early 2014 said, "If Atal Bihari Vajpayee had come to power in 2004 then the One Rank One Pension problem wouldn't have come up. He would have given retired Army officers and serving officers the means to live with dignity."

But even one year after he assumed power on May 26, 2014, the promise remains unfulfilled.

While visiting jawans in Siachen on October 23, 2014, Modi had said, "The promise of OROP has been fulfilled. We want all our Army officers to live with dignity."

Despite the Prime Minister's assurances, the scheme continues to elude ex-servicemen.