OROP suicide: VK Singh says veteran's mental health must be investigated

New Delhi: Minister of State for External Affairs V. K. Singh on Wednesday said the mental health status of the former Army jawan who was protesting over the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme and allegedly committed suicide on Tuesday is not known.

He also stressed on the fact that the OROP scheme should be kept separate from politics.

"See, he committed suicide, nobody knows the reason why. OROP has been shown as the reason, but we do not know the status of his mental health. Let the investigation take place. I have already told that OROP should be kept separate from politics," Singh said.

Singh said that most aspects of the OROP have been covered and that if someone complains over a few pennies and the delay of a few years, he should not be indulged.

"It was a demand made 40 years ago and this government has fulfilled those demands. Some money was to be given, which the Reddy Commission is rectifying. If you cannot wait for that, then it is definitely wrong," he said.

Ram Kishan Grewal, the former Army jawan had come to the capital to protest against the government's alleged backtracking on the implementation of the OROP scheme.

The 69-year-old Ram Kishan consumed poison even as he and four others accompanying him were waiting to meet Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to submit a memorandum reiterating their demands on the OROP scheme.