The OROP row represents perhaps the greatest betrayal of this government, Congress leader Manish Tiwari said.
The Congress party today called the government's announcement of One Rank One Pension or OROP for retired military veterans as a 'betrayal' of the ex-servicemen's demands and said the scheme was "totally disappointing".
The ruling BJP however said the plan was a 'historic' one, pointing out that previous Congress-led UPA government had only allocated a paltry Rs 500 crore for a scheme that would actually cost between Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 crore.
"The OROP row represents perhaps the greatest betrayal of this government. The Prime Minister tried to spin the issue," said Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari.
Congress leader and former defence minister AK Antony said, "The (Narendra) Modi government has substantially diluted the provisions of the OROP announced by the UPA. Today's announcement about OROP by the defence minister is totally disappointing."
The BJP however welcomed the announcement, calling it a historic decision. Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu said, "It is the Congress party's passion to criticise the government for everything, forgetting that they have not been able to fulfil this responsibility when in power."
BJP president Amit Shah said, "We have not just fulfilled the promise but implemented it as well. The Modi government has provided the retired and serving servicemen a financial security net."
Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said the BJP government had resolved a 40-year agitation in just 15 months. He said the government will ensure "modifications" to deliver the scheme in "full spirit".
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, facing a bitter challenge from the BJP in the upcoming state elections, strongly slammed the announcement on Twitter.