LETTER TO STANDING COMMITTEE ON DEFENCE AND PM BY THE ALL IMNDIA ESM WELFARE ASSOCIATION

M 35 Palika Bhawan, 
RK Puram, Sector 13,
New Delhi 110066.

Ph :011 26110710
Fax :011 241O6144

OROP - STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE PARLIAMENT

ON DEFENCE APPROACHED TO SAVE THE SITUATION

Dear friends

Taking a serious note of the way the RM has been handling the matter with regard to OROP, our Association in its Governing Council Meeting passed a Resolution on 21 Aug for making an appeal to the Hon'ble PM to please issue the Notification for implementation of OROP by 31 Dec, failing which we shall be forced to make more sacrifices.

The Resolution has since been sent. To make sure that our letter reaches the PM we decided to approach the Defence Standing Committee Members. We sent our request to them on 21 Oct. Copy of our letter to the Chairman of the Standing Committee, Maj Gen BC Khanduri is given below. This letter with appropriate changes has been sent to all the members of the Committee. Attached to this letter is a copy of the Resolution to the PM together with the forwarding letter. All these are given below.

The next day on 22 Oct the RM let off another bombshell when he said that he is thinking of referring this matter to a Tribunal. Creating a grim and desperate situation for us all. Unless we put our heads together and work out a joint response we are in for disappointment.

We are having our General Body Meeting at 11 00 hrs on 21 Nov at Community Centre , Netaji Nagar, New Delhi. You are all invited to come and participate in the discussion to take a united stand on this serious matter.

Look forward to not only hearing from you but also your participation.

Warm regards

Sincerely

Lt Col Inderjit Singh

Chairman

Mob : 09811007629

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LETTER TO MAJ GEN KHANDURI CHAIRMAN DEFENCE COMMITTEE

21 Oct 2014

Dear General

Even if it is too late, I write to congratulate you for winning a glorious battle at the hustings. It is a great achievement by any standards, but for a Veteran doing it, it is even more so.

Felicitations

The next thing you deserve our congratulations is for getting nominated as Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Parliament on Defence. I must tell you that 33 years that I have been working for the veterans cause, making numerous presentations to your Committee, I have never seen so many illustrious Veterans together on the same Committee, if that was not enough to cheer your heart up, a Veteran as Chairman of the Committee makes the day for Celebrations for " ACHHE DIN " coming at last.

So Near and Yet So Far

Do we presume, it is going to turn out to be a great opportunity to get our basics right or is it going to turn out to be another case of being so near and yet so far? Signs are ominous with the bureaucrats gradually taking the better of leadership slowly but surely, unless we are lucky to get your support and backing.

OROP - Authors

The first litmus test that awaits your immediate indulgence is with regards to OROP. We were the authors of OROP, having presented to Indiraji first time ever on 22 Feb 1982. Col Sona Ram will bear me out as he accompanied me for our meeting with Sh Gujral the PM on 23 Aug 1997 when we launched an agitational program which lasted for 107 days at the Red Fort Maidan.

OROP - Present Position

The situation that prevails now is that the MODs interpretation of OROP was rejected by the Chiefs as it was a mere sop and not OROP and the Chiefs Draft Govt Letter was shot down by the MOD due to large expense involved. The Chiefs then made a presentation to the Hon'ble RM, on 12 Jun to break the deadlock but he did not respond. After a month or so Gen VK Singh led a delegation to the RM. The RM was kind to listen to them patiently without responding. When the meeting ended, he as a parting shot told the Veterans to "lower down their expectations." This in other words means that we are not going to get true OROP.

Resolution

Hearing this awful news the members of Association in their Governing Council Meeting on 21 Aug passed the attached Resolution for sending it to the Hon'ble PM. We have since sent this to our respected PM. In this Resolution we have appealed to the PM to kindly fulfil his promise of giving us OROP by 31Dec, failing which we shall presume that he is not satisfied with the sacrifices we have made for the Nation already and he wants more. To fulfil his desire and win him over we shall make some more to satisfy him.

Your Help and Support

Although we have sent this Resolution to the Hon'ble PM on 22 Aug, we do not believe that it would ever be allowed by the vested interests to ever get to him. We seek your help and assistance to bring this matter to his notice. We are sure that once he comes to know that he is being let down he would come down heavily on these elements and fulfil his promise.

What is required is the immediate acceptance of Chiefs Draft Government Letter with some slight modifications. Can the Veterans depend upon you ? We will look forward to hearing from you.

Yours Sincerely

Lt Col Inderjit Singh

Chairman

The Hon'ble

Maj Gen BC Khanduri

Chairman

Standing Committee of the Parliament on Defence

Parliament House

New Delhi

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LETTER TO THE HON'BLE PM WITH RESOLUTION

Respected Modi Saheb

1. You were very kind to promise to fulfil the long standing demand of OROP of Veterans on coming to power. Your first action to restate your commitment by the President during the Joint Session of Parliament was very reassuring. Hearing that, the bureaucrats who have successfully stalled its implementation for over 33 years, got into action again.

2. In our Governing Council Meeting held in Delhi on 21 Aug the present position with regard to grant of OROP was explained.

3. It was a matter of deep shock for all present to know that despite your commitment the Bureaucrats are out to deny us our rightful due. They were in agony to know what was going on and then went on to pass the attached RESOLUTION which they wanted me to convey to you so that you could take preventive action to ward off this disastrous situation.

4. Many volunteers got up to make supreme sacrifice if the OROP did not come through even with a leader like you at the helm. We have no doubt that you will not let this happen.

Yours Sincerely

Inderjit SIngh

The Hon’ble Sh. Narendra Modi Bhai
Prime Minister of India
South Block
New Delhi - 110011

Copy to :-The Hon’ble Sh. Arun Jaitley
Defence Minister
Govt of India
South Block
New Delhi – 110011

The Hon’ble Sh. Rao Inderjit Singh
Raksha Rajya Mantri
New Delhi -110011

Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag, PVSM,UYSM,AVSM,VSM,ADC
Chief of Army Staff
Integrated HQ of MoD
New Delhi-110011

Admiral RK Dhowan, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC, Chief of the Naval Staff Integrated HQs of Armed Forces (Navy) South Block, New Delhi-110011

Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC Chief of the Air Staff Indian Air Force Vayu Bhawan, New Delhi 110011

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GRANT OF ONE RANK ONE PENSION - RESOLUTION

GENERAL

Past History

1. We have been struggling for the last 33 years for the grant of ONE RANK ONE PENSION (OROP) for Veterans. Down the line five Prime Ministers starting with Indiraji had accepted to give it. All their benign gestures to grant the Veterans their rightful dues were however frustrated by the hostile bureaucracy.

Recent Commitments

2. Now the Sixth Prime Minister had announced its acceptance in the Parliament on 17 Feb 2014. The seventh Prime Minister Sh Narendra Modi had given his commitment even before he assumed the charge. After assuming charge he reiterated his commitment through Presidential address to the joint session of the Parliament.

Bureaucratic Opposition

3. The bureaucrats are out to frustrate the commitment of Sh Narendra Modi also. They first produced their own version of OROP, which was rejected with the contempt it deserved. When they were given the correct definition, they worked out Rs 9100.00 crore as expenditure to scare the leadership into reneging from their commitment. 

Parting Shot

4. A delegation of Veterans met the Hon'ble RM on 16 Jul 2014. After the meeting when they were leaving, as a parting shot, the Hon'ble RM told them that they should lower their expectations. In other words we should not hope to get true version of OROP. A time has come when unless the Hon'ble PM takes appropriate action he was also likely to fail as his illustrious predecessors.

RESOLUTION

5. We therefore unanimously resolve to appeal to Sh Narendra Modi our respected Prime Minister - 

a) to take matters in his own hands and fulfill his promises made at Rewari to grant OROP to the Veterans on coming to power, as the Bureaucrat who have short changed us for the last thirty three years are not going to let it happen so easily;

b) we further submit that we shall be waiting for its implementation until 31 Dec 2014. If it does not come through we shall know that the Hon'ble Prime Minister, our respected leader, is not satisfied with the sacrifices already made by the veterans for the Nation. We shall then make a few more with the hope that he would be won over into fulfilling his promises.

CONCLUSION

6. During recent Elections wherever the Hon'ble PM went, he asked the public whether the previous Govt fulfilled their promises to them? When the public answered NO, he told them to throw the Govt out, which they did with a vengeance unheard of before. We are sure that the dedicated and effective leader that he is, he would not allow the bureaucrats to land him in similar situation.

(Inderjit Singh)
Lt Col (Retd)
Chairman

(SOURCE- ALL INDIA EXSERVICEMEN WELFARE ASSOCIATION)