NEW DELHI: Hundreds of ex-servicemen today protested outside Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s official residence in New Delhi to seek changes in the government’s One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme.
The protesters said they won’t budge unless someone from the government spoke to them on their demands.
“The protest in front of the finance minister’s residence began around 9 am. We are protesting against the anomalies in the government notification on the OROP,” a protester told IANS.
He said the OROP notification of November 7, 2015, provided for revision in the pension of ex-servicemen every five years whereas it ought to be done every year.
“We won’t move from here until the minister or a government official assures us of some action on our demand,” he said, adding that the protesters will hold a sit-in even during the night.
Over 300 people from Delhi and surrounding areas are participating in the protest, he said.
The government has already appointed a judicial committee to look into the OROP anomalies. The committee is likely to submit its report within six months.
The ex-servicemen have been staging a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi for the past several months to press their demand, first for issuance of a government notification on the OROP and lately for suitable amendments to it.
IANS