Chandigarh/Vasco Da Gama: Scores of military veterans on Tuesday returned their medals in Delhi, Haryana and Punjab in protest against the “diluted” notification of One Rank One Pension scheme even as defence minister Manohar Parrikar said their action was “unlike that of a soldier”.
The veterans said they will observe a “Black Diwali” to protest against the NDA government going back on its assurances on the One Rank One Pension scheme.
At many places including Panchkula, Ambala, Mohali and Patiala, the veterans held protest, saying they were dissatisfied with Centre’s notification issued last week. Ex-servicemen from Ambala, Chandigarh, Moga, Jalandhar and Gurdaspur already returned their medals on Tuesday, while those from Mumbai, Pune, Vadodara and Bengaluru will follow suit “next”, Col. Anil Kaul (Retd), spokesman of the protesters, said in Delhi.
In Delhi, several ex-servicemen returned their medals. “The veterans had threatened to leave the medals on road if we didn’t accept it. Hence, we accepted those,” district collector Sanjay Kumar told reporters.
Col. Kaul also hit back at Mr Parrikar over his “unlike soldiers behaviour” remark, saying his behaviour too “doesn’t behove that of a defence minister”.
Brig. Kiran Krishan (Retd), convenor for north Haryana of the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM) said the veterans gathered at Major Sandeep Shankla war memorial in Panchkula, where the medals of over 150 veterans were collected.
“After that we marched till mini secretariat in Sector 1, Panchkula and handed over the medals to additional deputy commissioner, Panchkula, as the district collector was away for some other programme with the chief minister,” he told PTI in Chandigarh.
Download the all new Deccan Chronicle app for Android and iOS to stay up-to-date with latest headlines and news stories in politics, entertainment, sports, technology, business and much more from India and around the world.
