My government will find solution to One Rank One Pension issue, I assure: Narendra Modi

New Delhi: Vowing to address the "vexed" issue of 'one-rank, one pension' (OROP), Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asked the ex-servicemen to give him some time as he targeted the previous governments, saying they had only "played" with the sentiments of the armed forces for 40 years without doing anything on the matter.

He attacked those indulging in politics over the matter and said "problems" have been added to the issue over the years and effort was underway to simplify it and make it acceptable to all.

In his monthly 'Mann Ki Baat' programme on radio, Modi said he has directed various departments in the government to look for solutions to the issue.

"For 40 years, you have been patient. Give me some time. Allow me to work on this. We will together find a solution to the problems," he told the ex-servicemen who are agitated over the delay in implementation of OROP.

"I want to tell one thing, not as the Prime Minister but as a human being with full sincerity, especially to the soldiers who are engaged in protecting the country as well as those who have retired from the armed forces and those who have made sacrifices.

"Is it not a fact that the question of 'one-rank, one pension' has not been hanging for the last 40 years? Is it not a fact that all the previous governments only talked but did nothing," he said.

"I assure you. I have made a promise in the midst of ex-servicemen that my government will implement one-rank, one pension. We do not shun our responsibility," he said, adding that soon after his government was formed, various departments have been working on this.

Modi said the issue is not as simple as he had thought but much more "vexed" as "problems" have been added to it over the years. Highlighting that these schemes entailed minimal premiums, Modi gave the example of the Prime Minister Suraksha Bima Yojana where a beneficiary has to spend just one rupee per month or Rs 12 a year to avail its benefits.

He exhorted the poor to join these schemes in large numbers and reap the benefits.

Recalling that the United Nations had declared June 21 as the International Yoga Day, the Prime Minister asked the people to practice and promote it. "If you don't know about it, read books on Yoga and explain it to more people."

He said it was a matter of pride for India that 177 countries adopted "our proposal within a short span of 100 days" to observe June 21, the longest day of the year, as the universal Yoga day. "Yoga has become a catalytic agent to unite the world," he said.

Modi also congratulated students who cleared the various board exams recently and suggested them to choose their careers in such a manner that would benefit the country.

Referring to those who were unsuccessful, he asked them to take their "failure as an opportunity" to bounce back and cited the example of former President APJ Abdul Kalam who had failed in the examination to be become a pilot which he had dreamt of.

"However, his failure gave him such a huge opportunity that he not only became a scientist but also rose to become the President of the country," the Prime Minister said.

He urged the students to chose from a variety of subjects available, saying "the country not only needs good teachers, but also army personnel as well as sportspersons."

Referring to the continued heat wave across the country, he urged people to take precautionary measures, especially for children.

Modi also spoke on the recently-launched Kisan Channel on Doordharshan, saying that not only the farmers, but also fishermen and those engaged in animal husbandry, would gain from it.