Journalism of Courage
Two war veterans — Wing Commander (Retd) S D Karnik and Wing Commander (Retd) K V Bopardikar — stepped up the agitation for One Rank One Pension (OROP) on Thursday by refusing to be felicitated by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar at a function in Pune.
The stand taken by the two war heroes was lauded by the ex-servicemen community from across the country even as a 1,500 odd members of Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM) voluntarily boycotted the event.
“I have been hoping that this government would clear OROP. On May 25, we were all hopeful that Prime Minister Modi would announce it from Mathura. But he did not. So, I decided not to attend the felicitation function,” Karnik, a 1971 war veteran and a Vir Chakra recipient, told The Indian Express over phone.
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Karnik, 80, said that the struggle for OROP has been going on for almost 10 years.
“It was mentioned twice in the budget. But it has not yet been announced,” he added.
While Karnik had received the invitation to attend the felicitation function about 12 days ago, he decided against attending it after PM Modi’s Mathura speech during which the ex-servicemen community was expecting a formal announcement on OROP.
Addressing the event — Sainik Samman Samaroh — Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said that work regarding “OROP is on”.
“For the first time, Defence Ministry and armed forces have agreed on the minute details of OROP… this is not a reward for the ex-servicemen as their contribution is beyond rewards. This is justice,” Parrikar said.
He later told The Indian Express that OROP has been cleared and can be announced any moment.
Speaking earlier in the day, Navy Chief Admiral R K Dhowan said, “A lot of progress has been made (in OROP). It is up to the government. A final decision is awaited. We have taken up the issue with the MoD. We need to wait. It is not a simple issue.”
As per the report of Koshiyari Committee in 2011, OROP means same pension for the same rank with equal years of service.
While the Congress-led UPA government had approved the move to implement OROP during its last year in office, a promise to bring OROP remained a part of the BJP’s election manifesto for the 2014 general elections. “Modi had then demanded a white paper on OROP from the UPA government. But what stopped him from implementing it during the last one year,” asked Group Captain (Retd) V K Gandhi, general secretary, IESM.
Karnik’s stand, meanwhile, was give a thumbs-up by ex-servicemen across the country.
“We were planning to felicitate Karnik at the same location for his gesture. But on his request, we are not doing so now. But his gesture is being supported by us all. We now plan to hold a rally in Delhi on June 14,” said Commander (Retd) Ravindra Pathak.
There are 28 lakh ex-servicement. Ex-servicemen from 13 states have so far confirmed participation in the June 14 rally. A group is also planning to go on a hunger strike.
