Govt. going back on its commitments by delaying OROP: Sachin Pilot

New Delhi: Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Monday said that the (BJP)-led NDA Government is going back on its commitments by delaying the One Rank, One Pension (OROP) scheme.

“I think it’s a great shame that our former servicemen are made to go through all of this. It is humiliating for the nation and I think the government of the day must realise that even if they do this OROP but do it after so long and after such a long delay, it’s of no consequence,” he told ANI.

“They (ex-servicemen) are not fighting for money. They are fighting for dignity, for what is rightfully theirs and most progressive nations in the world have this scheme of OROP,”

He insisted that the scheme was announced during the UPA regime and all the present government had to do was to stay on the course.

“From the last year and a half, the government has not only being delaying it but they are going back on their own commitments. So, the BJP must do some introspection as to what are the compelling reasons for them to make our former servicemen go through humiliation and suffering,” he said.

Earlier today, ex-serviceman Colonel Pushpendra Singh, who was on a hunger strike with Hawaldar Major Singh for the past eight days demanding the implementation of OROP, was rushed to the Army Research and Referral Hospital in the national capital.

One Rank, One Pension ( OROP) scheme has been a long-standing demand of nearly three-million ex-servicemen and war widows in the country. It seeks to ensure that a uniform pension is paid to defence personnel, who retire at the same rank with the same length of service irrespective of their date of retirement.