File photo of former Defence Minister AK Antony
The government on Saturday hit back at former Defence Minister AK Antony over his remarks that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "misleading" the nation on the 'One Rank One Pension' issue.
"I do not want to comment on the statement of Antony. It will be better if friends in Congress accept soon that they are no longer in power. They did not do these works properly and hence people of the nation have reduced their numbers (in Lok Sabha) to 44," Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters.
Mr Prasad's reaction came at the media briefing after the Union Cabinet meeting in New Delhi.
Senior Congress leader Mr Antony had slammed the Prime Minister saying that "either he is unaware of facts or he is misleading the nation in order to cover up his government's failure to implement the UPA decision on 'One Rank One Pension' (OROP)."
"I can say that what he is saying is totally incorrect and factually wrong. BJP-NDA Governments did nothing for ex-servicemen. They were in power from 1998 to 2004. They did not to anything on the issue of one rank-one pension," Mr Antony had said.
In an interview to a newspaper, Mr Modi had earlier said, "We are committed to OROP, but we are in consultation with defence personnel regarding the definition of OROP... Our government is here for five years and we cannot do anything without consulting the people concerned. The dialogue is being actively pursued. There is no need to have any doubt on this."
Mr Prasad said that he has nothing more to say on the issue as the Prime Minister has already explained about it in detail in the newspaper interview.
Meanwhile, responding to questions about the controversy surrounding the action by IIT-Madras against the Ambedkar-Periyar Study Circle (APSC), Mr Prasad said the management of IIT-Madras has already clarified that there is complete freedom of expression on the campus.
"Certain guidelines have been violated by the organisers. Internal guidelines have been violated and action taken," he said, adding that Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani had also clarified on the issue.
A political slug-fest erupted on Friday after the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras decided to de-recognise a students' group, many of whose members were Dalits, following a complaint that it was critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.