Ex-servicemen returning their medals during their agitation for One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme benefits and privileges at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. (Press Trust of India file photo)
Scores of military veterans from Haryana, Punjab and Delhi today held a protest against the "diluted" notification of 'One Rank, One Pension' (OROP) scheme and vowed to go to "any extent" to pressurise the Central government to meet their demand.
A number of retired Army officers were also present in the rally. Ex-servicemen from Haryana, Delhi, Punjab and nearby states joined the rally.
Addressing the rally, Major General Satbir Singh (retd), Chairman of Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement spearheading the protest, alleged that the Union government "has betrayed the ex-servicemen".
He said that notification issued by the government was not acceptable to any ex-servicemen.
Mr Satbir Singh demanded that the notification should be withdrawn at the earliest and a new notification should be released according to the demands of ex-servicemen.
Subedar Attar Singh Multani, president of Ex-servicemen Association (Ambala), said that "if our demands are not fulfilled the ex-servicemen can go to any extent to pressurize the union government."
Mr Multani said that ex-servicemen could paralyze the rail traffic in the country if the government did not accept their demands.
On November 7, the Centre had notified OROP scheme for over 24 lakh ex-servicemen and six lakh war widows in the country.
The notification said that in future, the pension would be re-fixed every 5 years. However, ex-servicemen had been demanding revision of pension every two years, if not one.
It has also dropped the contentious proposal to exclude ex-servicemen who sought premature retirement from the ambit of OROP. But the armed forces personnel who opt to get discharged on their request would henceforth not get OROP benefits, as per the notification.