Implement OROP

Spokesperson: Shri Shaktisinh Gohil: He said that I want to put before you a serious problem, which is related to the soldiers protecting our country on the borders. Along with this, I also want to thank the Hon’ble Supreme Court for taking cognizance of the problem of the families of our soldiers, retired jawans and widows of martyrs and jawans and also for seeking data from the government. Our soldiers work in difficult conditions for the security of our country. They work for us in such areas like Kargil, Leh and Ladakh, where the temperature goes as low as minus 40 degrees and sometimes even minus 48 degrees. The responsibility of securing justice, equality and dignity for them rests with the government and with all of us. Our soldiers should get ‘One Rank, One Pension’ (OROP) as recommended by the Koshyari Committee. This promise to implement the recommendation of the Koshyari Committee of OROP was given by the Finance-Minister in his Interim Budget Speech in the Parliament on February 17, 2014, and the Defense-Minister had said the same thing on February 26, 2014. Thereafter, the Controller General of Defense Accounts ¼CJDA½was informed about the same and asked to work out the modalities for OROP.

I feel sorry that in spite of saying this in the Parliament, the Government changed the entire definition of OROP in the name of implementation of OROP on November 07, 2015, contrary to the recommendation of Koshyari Committee. The policy that was made for our retired soldiers, the things that were in it, were reversed. The most important thing of OROP was that ‘One Rank, One Pension’ means that there should be no difference in the pension of the two soldiers working at the same post for the same period of time. But on November 7, 2015, the criteria for implementation of OROP were changed by the BJP government.

The effect for giving away benefit to those who retired till the calendar year 2013, was decided for July 01, 2014, and the re-fixation of pension would be counted according to the rank service with the same rank and it was also decided that the payment of the revised pension would have its effect from July 01, 2014. One more thing that was mentioned in it was that the re-fixation of pension will happen after every five years, which is contrary to the recommendation of Koshyari Committee. There was automatic revised fixation in Koshyari committee and here after 5 years. Due to this, the benefits of OROP are not being received.

We demand that: 1. the BJP government tells the reason for changing the recommendation of the Koshyari Committee. 2. the BJP govt. tells the nation that on February 17, 2014 and February 26, 2014, after promising clearly in the Parliament that OROP will be implemented as per the recommendation of the Koshyari Committee, why did the BJP government reverse it on November 7, 2015. 3. the BJP tells us who is responsible for the loss caused to our soldiers and their wives due the way OROP has been implemented? 4. The BJP government should immediately implement OROP as recommended by the Koshyari Committee. Saturday, February 19, 2022