New Delhi: Ex-servicemen protesting in the heart of the national capital on Saturday shouted “shame, shame” after Prime Minister Narendra Modi didn’t announce an implementation of the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme in his Independence Day speech.
As soon as they realized that Modi was not going to make any announcement they had been waiting for, dozens of retired soldiers rose from their seats near the Jantar Mantar monument and started shouting slogans.
Many were furious and kept shouting “shame, shame”. Others raised their fists in anger.
One retired officer said that Saturday was a “black Independence Day” for ex-servicemen and that their “hearts were broken”.
Modi said in his Red Fort address that the OROP scheme had been accepted by the government “in principle” and added that he expected a “positive outcome”.