OROP AND AFTER - THE HINDU EDITORIAL

• Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s announcement that the government has decided to implement the One Rank One Pension scheme came as a huge relief to the veterans of the armed forces and also to those now in the services. There remain some wrinkles that need to be ironed out and gaps in clarity that have to be filled. Most of the doubts are bound to be put to rest when the formal government order is issued. Credit must be given to the government for bringing a sense of closure to an issue that has been hanging fire for over 40 years. That the Prime Minister’s Office finally had to step in after nearly three months of wrenching agitations by the veterans is a telling commentary on the complicated nature of the issue and the hardened, almost intransigent, positions that had to be addressed. Yet it must be said that the government could have handled this better. The same could be said about the timing of the announcement too. By dragging the issue to a point nearly coinciding with the run-up to the Bihar Assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi risked pushing it squarely into the political arena, but he acted deftly. In the time it took for the government to take a decision, the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party and sections of the Left were raring to move into the breach by beating a path to Jantar Mantar where the veterans were on a hunger strike in a determined attempt to goad the government into action. The veterans should not be allowed to become tools in the hands of politicians. Indeed, by fielding a former Defence Minister to mount a nit-picking attack after the announcement was made, the Congress showed a certain inability to grasp the reality. The fact is that the Congress did not come through when it could have; instead it cited administrative, technical and funding difficulties.

  Now that most of the expectations on OROP have been met, a spirit of give-and-take should inform the rest of the engagement. Maximalist positions should be shunned. A pension review every year is desirable, but it should be asked if it would really be practical. The announcement of a single-member judicial committee to examine the interests of retirees may not be the ideal way forward. Given the complexities involved, the government should rather consider an appropriate advisory committee to expedite the process. It would be a pity if the opportunity is not utilised to close the perceived gap between the bureaucracy and the armed services in terms of the compensation package. The government must meanwhile remain determined to discourage any unrealistic expectations and demands that may now come up from other sectors following the OROP announcement.                                                                                                                                                                                                                 COMMEMNTS
  W

  Whisperingwillows  
  

  This government is being shameless... I voted for them but they sent police to attack the veterans protesting peacefully on 14th August. Now they have played a joke with this announcement.. They are fooling the public with this announcement... Shame on this government
• MS

  Mohinder Singh  
  

  Initially, 6th CPC recommendations thrown the Personal Below Officer Rank into deep well located somewhere in the desert. Since then, the Government of India is feeding the soldier thrown in the well. Statement of our politicians to bridge the gap still do not serve the purpose.
• GS

  Gurinder Singh  
  

  veterans are now vary of Modi Govt's intentions which is justified. It took 83 days of agitation and 20 days of hunger strike to extract a half hearted commitment from Modi. With lot of issues still unresolved. Modi's track record of deliverance on promises is not at all good. Now there is delay in issue of Govt order and veterans cannot trust this Govt which is understandable

  M
• Major  
  

  The OROP may have been announced, it has really not been sanctioned. The one man commission is to workout all the details and examine interests of retirees within six months. That means the finality of this decision is more than a year away as the commissions report requires vetting by the government. Will one man be able to workout what an army of bureaucrats failed to achieve all these months? Definitely the intension is to announce the OROP under some disguise before the Bihar elections. The redundant VRS issue is introduced to confuse the issue further. Finally this announcement is against the definition of the Koshyari Committee. The main thrust has always been to ensure that no senior person gets less than a junior. That is common sense but currently this is not the situation. With no roll on pension correction done on yearly basis in real time, it is no OROP. 
• Selvaraj  - A very good  opinion. Much damage has been done by the politicians and bureaucrats by dragging this issue so far. See how the US & UK treat their veterans and soldiers. A bad precedent that the veterans has to fight for their rights with their own govt and come to the street has been created. Money is only one part. Trust deficit, gratitude, oneness and ethos of our army is indirectly affected. See the war of words in public domain and politicization which could have been avoided. The politicians and bureaucrats are destroying the country by their inept handling of such sensitive issues.AK
• Ajay Kumar  
  

  It is sad that even after the acceptance of the OROP by the Government and clarification by the PM, the veterans are agitating on minor details which goes against their earlier claims of fighting just for prestige and not for money. Revision every five year is logical and mathematical precision of equality is absurd. Even annual revision is less than monthly revision. Let the government and the society gauge the real impact of OROP before further improving the package. I am afraid, if the agitation continues, the veterans may loose their prestige for which they claim to have been fighting.

  • B

    bathindiangill  
    

    My dear Ajay Kumar ji, including term "VRS" is a last minute trick. There is no VRS in military service. PMR is accepted by the ministry after due consideration and get pension if eligible and completed qualifing service. The govt want to devide the ex servicemen on this issue and save 40% of money out of 8000-10000 crores
• K

  Kodand  
  

  a very balanced reflection of reality. While Congress has no locus standi to declare " I could have done done but for .." attitude, Modi govt. could have been graceful not to have dragged this long .I must say Veterans conducted themselves gracefully and they should now move away from public and resolve further issues with Ministry than resorting to agitation. 
• NS

  N Subramanian  
  

  What Indira Gandhi denied to veterans Mr Modi gave it. There may be some doubts/clarifications. But for that no agitation should continue. It would be unbecoming if agitational attitude continues. Veterans have guarded Indian lives and properties. I hope better wisdom will put a full stop to the issue. Hats off Veterans and Mr Modi
• KK

  Kewal Krishan  
  

  This is only officer OROP I do't know why JCO & ORs are .....
• B

  Binu  
  

  #OROP to Army will see following result in the future-1)Mass exodus by young officers of Army,Navy,Airforce and immediate need is the retirement age for minimum pension should be increased from 20 to 25 years and there should be an arrangement that except fighting force like -Infantry,Artillary etc rest the retirement age kept further high.If there is no arrest in retirement then nation will see mass exodus and it will create artificial vacancies and the burden of #OROP will be paid by hapless Tax payers which accounted for meagre 3% of the population.We can't go the Greece way! 2)All disabled and death in militant as well as war of any organisation should be treated in par and can't be discriminated irrespective of the colour of the uniform 3)All recruitment thru SSB should be outsourced as it is done by elite SPG so that artificial supply crisis of officers' can be arrested.Vernacular/Government school toppers can be taken directly thru door to door recruitment & best talent attractGS
• G S  
  

  I think any government should not ignore the good health , sound sleep and good moral of Defense, Police force , and teachers who in turn reciprocate the same to all of us and to our generations to come. May sound illogical but If their basic need is of 100 they should get 150. Had the decision been taken right at the time of our independence , the Governments to follow may not have found this as burden on the financial arrangements. Compare it in the spirit of as an individual , we never ever bargain on the issue of our own security , good education and secured place to reside. The contribution of the above services to the society enlarge is un measurable by means of money they get for their services and therefore they deserve to be rich than others. The present government seems to understand the need of the people better than the governments in the past and therefore should not hesitate to take such decisions in time rather than to keep it lingering.S
• Sridhar  
  

  It is Nicely Expressed by Author that "Soliders should not be the tools for Political Gains". Every Goverment must understand that "Because of their sacrifice only , we are living peacefully".In other Words"They are the Saviours of our Nation". And the hidden thing is "We should respect them as a FIRST Among all Citizens". Finally OROP came as a headlines in Paper ,Lets see how it really works in our "SAVIOURS LIFE". Hope it doesn't stops at Headlines alone!!!
• 

  Venkat Loganathan at Government 
  

  In view of New Pension Scheme introduced last decade the future recurring commitment to Govt. will be only minimal
• 

  Venkat Loganathan at Government 
  

  Pension is a "Deferred Payment of Salary" OROP should be made applicable to all Pensioners in the interest of "Natural Justice"BS
• balwinder singh  
  

  Most of the welcome step is that our Veterans have called of Fast Unto Death. Their lives are precious for the nation. No one in future should go on FUD. Let it be any reason. They should use simple means to press for their demands. NDA Govt. has taken appropriate step to implement OROP. But at the same time created history to include PMR (VRS) clause to deny OROP benefit to premature retirees. No government since independence or before have denied benefits to PMRs. First of all as per terms of engagement initially signed by the individual at the time of enrolment. Minimum pensionable service is 15 years. If one complete minimum 15 years of service, he gets pension in case of JCOs/ORs & it is 20 years for officers. 15 /20 years terms of engagement is contract between individual & Govt via enrolment form signed at the time of enroment. PMRs personnel are on reserve liability till 47 /52 years & can be called for during external threats or war breaks out & why deny benefits.CK
• Capt. KR  
  

  Sir, best solution for armed forces personnel OROP is in two ways:- a) there should be a separate pay commission for three forces. Fixation should be at least 25% higher than the central scales. At the time of retirement all allowances also be taken into account for pension benefits. b) on completion of terms of tenure soldier(all ranks) is forced to go on retirement to keep armed forces young and active. on the other hand in civil they can continue in any designation upto 58/60 years of age. This formula can also be applied to armed forces with absorbing them in civil life in appropriate grade by state/central governments, PSUs and para military forces. Formula for sharing pension and other financial aspects can be worked out. Thus soldier honoured, national interest looked into, financial burden eased, experience of soldier used & job protected. KR Raja Reddy,Tirupati.K
• Krishnamurthy  
  

  the final decision from Government came after the issue got politicised, & govt got scary of its impact on BIhar elections, should the veterans involvethemselves in elections. this could be a precurser to the politicisation of armed forces, lest our democracy also should follow the Pakistani style of democracy, where the lines dividing political civil leadership and army generals is very thin, and army generals keep waiting behind the screens to jump into political leadership boots, which they normally dont fit into. This will be a worst nightmare for Indian democratic system- Armed forces allowing themselves to be used as pawns by plitical parties to achieve their sinister power designs, which will prove tobe fatal for Indian dmocracy.NR
• NPY Raman  
  

  The PM's esteem would have gone up had he intervened earlier to bring the ex-soldiers on the dialogue table and ironed out an acceptable solution. But this would have been a very hard task given the fact that for over four decades the issue has defied amicable solution. The Congress reaction is pathetic to say the least. It is morally culpable to have allowed the issue to come to this stage.
• 

  Koshy Oommen Plavilayil  
  

  Though unduly delayed, implementation of OROP is a welcome step. OROP implementation has been expedited due to the Ensuing assembly election in Bihar & due to admonishing by RSS. The delay has caused irreparable damage to BJP's image. Modi Govt erred in fulfillment of all its promises but for OROP. Veterans got support from everyone irrespective of political affiliations. The Govt is biased in its assistance to States as well. Bihar was given an assistance of Rs.1.65 lakhs crores exclusively due to forthcoming elections. BJP Govt. is neglecting the Assamese where 17.00 lakhs people are rendered homeless due to unprecedented floods. The Central Govt has extended no financial assistance to these hapless victims. BJP has time to engineer defections in Congress in Assam. Separate funds available under National Disaster Management Scheme. The central Govt must give immediate relief to the Assam flood victims. Will RSS take initiative & extend humanitarian help to Assam Flood victims?R
• Ramakrishnan  
  

  The OROP issue snowballed into the present state because of the animosity that bureaucracy had against the armed forces. It started in 1973 when armed forces pension was brought down and the civilian pension hiked up with out the knowledge of the unsuspecting members of the armed forces. The mistrust in the minds of the armed forces started then. When the matter was brought up by the armed forces for a redemption the Govt didn't give a hearing and forced the veterans to go to the Court. In successive Central Pay Commissions, representation was denied to the armed forces, thus denying redressal in the matters of pay & pension of armed forces personnel and veterans. In all these the bureaucracy had a hand. Ironically the political heads failed to address the serious divide. MoD made it a point to oppose each and every pension case in the Court, to the extent that the Apex Court even commented on the lack of a Grievances Redressal Commission for the Armed Forces.B
• baldev  
  

  It is a good outcome for the ESM but another issue I want to apprise the Modi Sarkar is of not to be proud of over achievement . In the western world there is much more attention is paid for the retired veterans by way of creating a full fledged ministry of Veteran Affairs. Not only that much more attention is paid by looking after their Physical and Mental health. However this is also a big achievement for a issue which was hanging in balance for a long time. Baldev Dardi
• 

  Srinivasan Iyer  
  

  The solution to the OROP problem was long overdue. IN a complicated issue thereare bound to be certain anomalies and kinks to be sorted out. Unfortunately politics (Bihar elections) forced the Govt to take a decision. A one man commission to resolve contentious issues may be difficult as whoever is appointed will need to have advisers and if they are bureaucrats, there could be problems. In such a difficult and old issue there are bound to be some issues that cannot be solved and it will be prudent to implement the order and for both sides to accept the deal. But one thing is clear that the morale of the services and their faith in politicians will take a beating though their patriotism and sense of duty will remain for the service of the country
• M

  Moving-cheese  
  

  Congress and its governments showed political will only to promote one family, rest is trivial.
• NK

  NK KM  
  

  Thanks to Hon'ble PM and Defence Min.
• suraj It was not that much simple. It could take one only year for a good administrative government to decide about this. That has happened now by this government. But congress was given 10 years but still not able to to do this. You please answer why even after for 10 years the congress was not able to do this. Whether the ministers of UPA government was busy with other activities? 1 year is long and 10 years is short is your judgement.
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  Gandhi GANDHI Retired from Tata Motors Ltd 
  

  Let us have a large heart to accept that this is an excellent move by present govt. It is very difficult to satisfy each individual in a large democracy like ours. UPA should gracefully accept that they failed in taking an appropriate decision during their regime. Mother and son are capable of only raking non important issues in the parliament.S
• Suresh  
  

  A very long standing demand of the army veterans had been fulfilled. Now it is the time for the people of India to look forward to the fulfillment of the BJP 's promises By BJPLT
• Lun Touthang  
  

  Whatever may be its outcome, OROP is a welcome step. Let's not forget that once the military personnel complains, that's the end of a strong nation.
• V

  Veteran  
  

  A laudable initiative by the Govt. Should ensure that its implementation as promised and assured by the PM in letter and spirit is followed up.
• P

  Pkg  
  

  It is commendable effort by BJP govt. OPOP announcement will help most of veterans . The Congress govt could have done this while they were in power. But not implemented. On one hand , it will be burden on state exchequer while on the other hand the sacrifice made by our esteemed soldiers cant be ignored. OROP was abolished after 1973 in Late PM Indira gandhi's era . After that the issue was pending . The demand can be put before Govt in other way . Public protest by veterans is not suited . They are highly respectful in our society after all!!!!
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  Hariharan Pv  
  

  THE HINDU has rightly expressed: " Credit must be given to the government for bringing a sense of closure to an issue that has been hanging fire for over 40 years. That the Prime Minister’s Office finally had to step in after nearly three months of wrenching agitations by the veterans is a telling commentary on the complicated nature of the issue and the hardened, almost intransigent, positions that had to be addressed." The Veterans' Pension and related issues should not have been dragged this far, and there cannot be any excuse, at any time, for either disregarding this most important matter or for dragging along, under some negative pretext or the other. India today exists as a sovereign democratic nation, unlike a Pakistan (which is actually a severed portion of India, under Theocratic and Military style Dictatorship, in the name of democracy) because of our Armed Forces, who have conducted and performed with absolute patriotism, unseen anywhere else. Let us salute them, always
• rajendra babu - Why drag veterans who are apolitical till now into politics of congress or BJP. All politicians are of the same feather with different colors. If the issue is addressed partly it is now for the love of veterans but certainly to draw a mileage using veterans for vote bank politics. For information of public the issue is not closed as the definition of OROP passed by both the governments and ruled by Supreme court is still hanging.A
• Arvind  
  

  It would be wise to grant the relief to the Services as promised. Bureaucratic mischief and delay may be counterproductive. It is not wise for any nation to lose the trust of the a man that wields a weapon on behalf of the nation. Bureaucrats must be shackled to their desks and Defense leadership must be treated with respect by the political leaderhip lest the babus suddenly face a bayonet of cold steel meant for theenemyP
• pkpk  
  

  RE-ORGANIZATION OF MILITARY/CIVILIAN COMMAND STRUCTURE - There should be only 5 commands (NOT as Army, Navy or Air force but all three combined) - Northern Command, Western Command, Eastern Command, Central Command and Maritime Command (including Strategic Command). Eastern Command will include areas right up to South East Asia. Western Command will include areas up to Russia. Maritime Command will include areas up to West Asia including Arabian Sea, India Ocean, right up to Australia. Northern Command’s area will be limited but Kashmir itself is very important and areas in Tibet and Mongolia can be included. All 5 commands should be commanded by a 4 star general from army, air force or navy, who will report to Joint Chiefs of Staff (4 star general but a higher appointment) in PMO deputed by another 4 star general. Both Joint Chiefs of Staff and his deputy will report to the defense minister but their offices will be in PMO. Prime Minister will be connected to all 4 star commandersN
• NarayanaswamyVenkataraman  
  

  Pressured by an intensified agitation by the Veterans on one side and by its own bravado pre election promise,the Govt had no other alternative than to concede the demands under the OROP almost in toto. However,the issue has raised a number of other questions.First,is it the moral responsibility of the Govt to ensure "equalization" of pension of the past and the present retirees?If so,can it be awarded to one class and be denied to another? Second,when there is already a ten year review for all and biannual mechanism of compensatory increases linked to WPI( for 2012 to 2014,it was14%,18%and17%), why should the Armed Forces alone be given a review every five years? Third,while One Designation means the Minimum of the revised scale,why should it be significantly different for the AF? As a civilian pensioner,my pension has multiplied 30 times in the last 27 years and I trust it is the same factor for the Armed Forces.The solution now offered is replete with difficulties of implementation.
• (SOURCE-HINDU)