UFESM held a press conference at the press club , New Delhi today. The presser was well attended by all sections of the electronic and print media.
A copy of the press statement as released this morning is as given below.
The highlights of the statement include the following: -
1. Rhs to continue..
2. Escalation in the form of protest marches and other constitutionally correct procedures begin after seven days of our deadline of 15 July 2015.
3. All Govt run or sponsored programs will be boycotted by UFESM.
4. Kargil Vijay Diwas will be celebrated by UFESM in our own way.
5. A maha sangram rally will be organized in Patna in Aug 2015 to take the message of "Broken Promises" to the voters. Similar activity will take place in other states going to the polls.
The conference was attended by heads of constituents of UFESM and addressed by Lt Gen Balbir Singh, PVSM, VSM**, Maj Gen Satbir Singh, SM, & Lt Col Inderjit Singh. The welcome address and vote of thanks were given by Brig Kartar Singh, Convener UFESM.
At the press conference the question of OROP in real terms was highlighted by showcasing 5 cases , Two of Vir Naris, One NCO, A war decorated JCO & A war disabled Officer.
Questionds by the press were fielded by the advisors of UFESM and moderated by the convener.
The press conference was conducted by the undersigned with assistance of Ms Aparna Gupta & her team from, "Evolve Inc" and supported by C4F. Photo cover was provided by Mr Hemant Sharma.
The RHS continued for the 30 th day with 46 volunteers and over 300 prticipants.
Col Anil Kaul, VrC
Media Advisor UFESM
14 Jul 2015
Press Statement from
UFESM
The tussle goes on
Are escalation and boycotting the next steps?
Towards resolution
of
One Rank One Pension
New Delhi, 14, July 2015:
Continuing its fight for One Rank One Pension (OROP), the United Front of Ex-Servicemen (UFESM), today announces their plan to regretfully heighten the ongoing agitation for their long standing demand, which has not been accepted by the government since more than three decades now.
It may be noted that several missives, requests and appeals some signed in blood, to the Honourable President of India who is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces over the last seven years remain unanswered and unacknowledged to this day.
Since the returning of gallantry medals earned by these veterans was not enough to convince the government to take action, they now plan on celebrating Kargil Vijay Diwas in their own way.
With veterans going on relay hunger strikes for exactly a month now, it is shameful to see award winning ex-servicemen, some in their eighties and nineties having to resort to sterner methods for something for which the government doesn’t even give an official statement; There is a distinct possibility that of the morale of the serving personnel getting hurt. As the days add up to the delay, the leaks in the press point to certain failures to concur with the sine qua non, stating unfounded reasons like the concern of the jawans not getting an increase of more than a few hundred rupees, this despite it being clear that the known demands put forth have been seen by all the stake holders.
There have been volunteers from amongst the ESM who have desired to undertake a fast unto death. Several more are likely to take this step if the OROP is not promptly settled. An effort is being made to dissuade such individuals from taking these step; however rage and sentiment can go overboard.
To convey the message of a “Broken Promise” to the electorate of states going to the polls, UFESM plans to hold a Maha Sangram Rally in Patna in August 2015
UFESM and all its constituents will boycott all Government organized functions, This will be the next step towards assuaging the hurt of 26 lakh ex-servicemen and over six lakh widows who are the affected community of this prevarication by the Govt of India..
Protest marches in conformity with the agitation will commence in one city per zone, with one city being added on every second day. It shall be orchestrated against government apathy assuring no disruptions to the general public.
UFESM has underlined its commitment to the issue and is now supported by the venerable veteran Anna Hazare . It is time that the Nation thought about the families of the brave souls who gave up their lives protecting our Great land, and remember the promises of OROP made during the Lok Sabha election campaigns, as an indicator of the thoughts of ESM on the NaMo Government having the power, yet showing a blind eye to such adverse inconsistency for more than a year.
About United Front of Ex-Servicemen (UFESM):
At the conclave all Ex Servicemen organizations decided to come together for the single minded cause of all Ex Servicemen, thereafter have been undertaken under the United Front of ESM banner pan India.
All OROP activities are supported by the NGO - Citizen For Forces.
Show cased OROP CASES
PRESS CONFERENCE 14 JULY 2015
OROP AFFECTS THESE CATEFGORIES IN REAL TERMS
1. Vir Nari1 Santosh Devi W/O late Sep Jagvir Singh of the Bombay Engineering group belonging to Jhajjar in Haryana. He was enrolled in Feb ’87 but due to a medical injury he could not complete his training but was medically boarded out with a minimum pension of Rs 1206/-. He died on 21 Jun 2008. He leaves behind a wife and three daughters. The widow gets a minimum pension of Rs 3500/- that too was paid to her in 2014, after a gap of six years from the date of her husband’s demise. OROP would enable her relief to a marginal extent nevertheless without it, she finds life another war for sheer survival.
2. Vir Nari 2 Smt Imrati Devi W/o Sep Het Ram of Sep Pat Ram of the Mahar Regiment. She was widowed at the age of around 40 years. She has six daughters, five married with one of still to be married. She gets a pension of Rs 3500/-. OROP would go a big way in alleviating her distress.
3. NCO’s Havildar Major
Singh, of Barnala District in Punjab joined the Army in the “Y” group, in 1975 as part of 3 Sikh LI. A battalion once commanded by the former chief Gen VP Malik. He rose to the rank of Havildar while serving in all parts of the country and participated in CI operations in J&K & the North East specifically Nagaland. A bachelor he has his parents and younger sibling’s family to take care off. He has sat on Relay Hunger Strike every day since 15 June 2015. He was discharged in 1991 after completing 16 years of service. He currently draws a pension of Rs 5595/- . OROP is likely to benefit him by approximately Rs 4000/- pm + DA of 113% on the full amount or up by 82%.
4. JCO’s 69 year old
Honorary Captain Jai Singh
Rathee is a Vir Chakra Awardee for having knocked out 9 Pakistani tanks and four RCL guns as the gunner of the Regimental HQ tank during the battle of Chamb in 1971. He joined the Army in the Deccan Horse Regiment in 1965 as a sowar/ sepoy and was discharged after reaching the highest possible rank of Risaldar in 30 years of service. He was then elevated to the rank of honorary Lieutenant than Captain. He draws a pension of Rs 15,000/- pm and would see an increase of approximately Rs 1500/ - or 10%. This is due to the fact that these ranks were brought to near parity in the year 2012 while leaving out others.
5.
Officers. This 40 year old officer is a battle casualty of the 1999 Kargil war better known as “OP Vijay”. With a disability of 140 % for life, this officer who was commissioned in the Dogra Regiment in 1997, was retained in service but had to be transferred to the ordnance Corps. However after completing 10 years of service, he was found “unsuitable to continue serving further due to his disability and was invalided out of service in 2007. He gets a pension of Rs 45000/- due to its nomenclature as “War Injury Pay”. He has become a legend with his perseverance of being a blade runner who has three Limca Book of records to his credit including running the half marathon at 10000 feet. He joined the ICICI bank and was with them for four years when due to their intemperance of posting him to a station where specialist facilities were not available, despite his condition and adding insult to injury by relieving him without even an acknowledgement to his missive to the well known CEO, Ms Chanda Kochhar. The fact that OROP would help the officer in his state but may show corporate World the true value of a soldier who despite a 140% disability soldier’s on. |
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