“For 40 years, you have been patient. Give me some time” he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asked the ex-servicemen to give him some time to address the “vexed” issue of ‘One Rank, One Pension’ (OROP) and 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.
Mr Modi’s comments came in his monthly ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme on radio.
“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 ex-servicemen agitated over the delay. He said he had directed various government departments to look for solutions to the issue. “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.
Mr Modi said the issue was not as simple as he had earlier thought, but much more “vexed” as “problems” have been added to it over the years. The PM said, “There is no need to give step-by-step information to the media. There can be no running commentary on this.”
“You (armed forces) have importance in the ideology from which we have come, and the principles on which we are moving ahead. For me, to help you is not any government programme or political agenda, but a matter of service to the nation,” Mr Modi said, while repeatedly assuring e x-servicemen that “this government” will resolve the one-rank-one-pension issue.
“I am determined to do whatever I can for those who are ready to die for the country. I am confident that my ‘Mann ki Baat’, which has only been sincerity, will reach you,” he said. During the 25-minute ‘Mann ki Baat’, Mr Modi also referred to the completion of one year of his government and said there had been analyses and “criticism”.
Contending that he feels for the poor, Mr Modi specially mentioned three recently-launched social security schemes, including the PM Insurance Scheme and Atal Pension Scheme, for the benefit of the downtrodden. “I want to create an army from among the poor to fight poverty and defeat it so that the burden of poverty is removed,” he said.
Veterans want a fixed deadline
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assurance on the issue of roll-out of ‘One Rank, One Pension’ scheme was met with skepticism with ex-servicemen seeking a firm timeline and the Congress saying he has further compounded the problem by saying it was a “complex issue”. Though Mr Modi vowed to address the issue, the miffed ex-servicemen also appeared to be in no mood to call off their planned protest on June 14 over the delay.
“Assurance without a firm date does not really satisfy the ex-servicemen. What we are looking for is a date. Assurance has never been in doubt. We want to know when. We are not looking for khairaat (doles). We are looking for sense of justice for our due demand,” Lt Gen Raj Kadyan (retd) said.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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