‘No doubt about it’: Government committed to OROP scheme, says PM Modi

On OROP- the Govt is committed to OROP & there’s no doubt about it. http://t.co/k2AdqpooFC

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 30, 2015

Currently, all those soldiers who retired before 2006 receive less pension than their counterparts and even their juniors.

On Friday, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had said even though all formalities of the scheme had been completed, no specific time-frame could be announced for its implementation as a couple of administrative steps were still pending. The scheme has been in the midst of a controversy with several war veterans and ex-servicemen communities demanding that the government implement the programme as soon as possible. They were hoping that the government would announce it on the occasion of the completion of its first year in office.

At a function in Pune, two war veterans had even refused to be felicitated by the Defence Minister.

On Wednesday, Parrikar had said that the sacrifices made by defence personnel cannot be measured in terms of money given to them after their retirement.

“The promises we made (during election time) were for five years and not one year. I am sure we will do excellent work in five years. The sacrifices made by our defence personnel cannot be counted in terms of money given to them. I have been to all borders and I know that staying in isolated places for six months at a stretch is virtually impossible for a common man,” he said. “OROP is a part of our promise, but, sacrifices cannot be measured in terms of rupees,” he added.

(With PTI inputs)