The प्रिन्सिपलेड position of Govt on orop. ......
अंग्रेजी का सिक्सर पर सिक्सर
प्रिंसिपल के उप्पर प्रिंसिपल
The principle which implements OROP we are committed to it but it has to be based on some principles," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.
The principle which implements OROP we are
Committed to it but it has to be based on some
principles," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said. (PTI)
The प्रिन्सिपलेड position of Govt on orop. ......
An update on OROP.
Must read for all those concerned about this national issue.
Pro-BJP think tank Vivekananda International Foundation skewers government on ‘One Rank One Pension’
Manu Pubby
19 August 2015
New Delhi
In a potentially embarrassing situation for the government, the director and three top military board members of Bharatiya Janata Party-leaning think tank Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) have come out strongly against the government for dragging its feet on 'One Rank One Pension'.
Leading the charge is former Army chief NC Vij, who took over as VIF director after Ajit Doval assumed charge as the national security adviser.
Gen Vij is one of the signatories to the strongly worded letter by ex-Army chiefs to the PM earlier this week. "It (OROP) was accepted by the United Progressive Alliance and the present government has also promised it," he told ET.
"The PM himself has announced it (OROP) four times, starting at Rewari (before 2014 general elections) and just now on Independence Day. Wish he had stated a timeline when it would be implemented," Gen Vij told ET.
VIF, it may be noted, has considerable clout within the government. Both NSA Ajit Doval and Principal Secretary to PM Nripendra Misra were associated with the think tank before taking up their current assignments.
The foundation was the hub of BJP-backed anti-corruption movement against the UPA government, and helped provide a platform to stitch up an alliance with Baba Ramdev.
Several VIF members now hold important positions in the government, including former Defence Research & Development Organisation chief VK Saraswat, who is now a Niti Aayog member, and Prasar Bharati Chairman A Surya Prakash.
Former Air chief S Krishnaswamy, who is on the powerful advisory board of the think tank, has not signed the letter but voiced concern on the situation going out of hand.
He urged the government to at least establish a channel of communication with the protesting veterans. "The PM is meeting everyone. So why not meet the veterans? The decision maker needs to communicate and tell them what is being planned," he told ET.
Among other prominent members of the VIF advisory board who have written to the prime minister on the matter are former Army chiefs Shankar Roychowdhury and VN Sharma.
UNPRECEDENTED EVENTS
Gen Vij, who retired from service in 2005, said the events of August 14 — a clash between policemen and veterans — were unprecedented and have hurt the dignity of the soldier. Most ex-servicemen have relatives who are serving in the armed forces, he said. "They are naturally affected by all this. In today's environment, everyone is watching, including the serving soldier."
Krishnaswamy recalled the Air Force crisis of 1997, when protests on pay parity spilled on to the streets, with officers holding protest marches against higher salaries for fighter pilots. "It (1997) was a very serious situation. The opponents of our country were thrilled to see the morale of the services going down," he said.
On Tuesday, a day after 10 former chiefs wrote a letter of protest to the PM, a reachout came from the PMO with Principal Secretary Nripendra Misra meeting a delegation of ex-servicemen.
Though there was headway at the talks, a decision was taken to continue the process and more meetings could take place, said sources.
Meanwhile, Home Minister Rajnath Singh directed Delhi Police to apologise on Tuesday for roughing up veterans at the OROP protest venue on August 14. Singh directed the city police commissioner to reach out to the agitators and depute a senior official to issue an apology. As a result, Joint Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) MK Meena met the veterans and apologised .
At Jantar Mantar, where a protest has been on for over two months, three veterans are now on fast unto death demanding implementation of OROP. Officials of the United Front of Ex-Servicemen said efforts were on to dissuade them amid signs of a government reachout.
With its back against the wall, the government is relying heavily on established institutional channels through Army Chief Gen Dalbir Singh to work a way out of the logjam. In fact, the Army chief was the one who arranged the meeting between the veterans and Misra, sources said.
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RELATED PLEASE :
No OROP, no retreat: Veterans vow they won't back down until Modi sarkar relents
Tarique Anwar
19 August 2015
Upset over the Prime Minister not announcing a date for the implementation of the One Rank One Pension scheme, two war veterans who were on a relay hunger strike for the past 64 days are now on an indefinite fast unto death and say they won't relent until the government gives in to their demands.
“My entire family is standing with me. I am blessed to have their support. Even my granddaughter rang me up from United States yesterday and told me, ‘Nana (maternal grandfather)...we saw you on TV and we are proud of you.’” Colonel (retired) Pushpender Singh told Firstpost.
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The OROP betrayal and its consequences
Maj. Gen. Ashok Mehta (retd)
19 August 2015
In a surprising U-turn — one more to the 56 turnabouts since he came to power — he said, “Even after I came into Government, I have not been able to do OROP till now. I am assuring my soldiers once again, in principle OROP has been accepted. But talks with stakeholders are on”.
The ‘talks’ bit is new.
It represents a victory for the babudom in stalling the OROP, shows how lightly the Government takes the veterans, and what little work was done by past Governments on OROP over the last 20 years and this Government for 17 months.
The capture of the vote-bank was more important than delivering on promises.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has no face to show as he has periodically given new dates for implementation of the OROP. His latest is ‘four more days’.
Similarly, other Ministers are not embarrassed revising dates.
A former Army Chief, Gen VK Singh, who ran rings around the previous Government regarding his age issue, is silent as a Minister on an issue that concerns the larger veterans’ community.
(Remember ‘duty’ and ‘disgust’?)
So is another Minister, Col Rajyavardhan Rathore.
[ COMMENT : History tells us that Bharat suffered because of
" JAICHANDS " !!! ]
The Armed Forces have suffered, since independence, at the hands of a bureaucracy, that has usurped civilian control of the military from politicians — the hallmark of plural democracy.
This frees politicians for the one job they do best: Canvas for votes on notional promises.
Bureaucracy has systematically undermined the interests of the Armed Forces from progressive dimunition of status to short-changing them on their perks and privileges.
Though some of the blame for the dilution in authority and standing has to be taken by the military for letting itself be divided and ruled. Lured by jobs as Ambassadors, Governors and members of Army tribunals, service chiefs and top military commanders have allowed the OROP to drift.
After all, today’s soldier is tomorrow’s veteran — 50,000 soldiers join the veterans’ rank every year.
The Armed Forces are a stand-alone institution incomparable with any civilian service and Central armed police forces. The bogey that ‘others’ will demand an OROP is being spread by the babus.
The veterans’ movement has been sanctified by 14 former Service chiefs, which is unprecedented.
Undoing the injustice of the last 50 years to veterans is the key.
Mr Modi’s personal credibility is at stake. Civil-military relations have reached a breaking point. Only his direct engagement with the aggrieved will avert an unprecedented crisis.
Apology for police action will be gracious.
Re-phrasing his Independence Day slogan is in order: ‘Start-up OROP; stand up veterans’.
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