Kiran Choudhry, Leader of the Haryana Congress Legislature Party, has slammed the Central Government, led by Mr Narendra Modi, for letting down thousands of ex-servicemen by not implementing ‘One Rank, One Pension’ (OROP) repeatedly promised by him in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, and after coming to power.In a statement issued here today, the former excise and taxation minister said that the PM should have announced the date for implementing the OROP scheme, instead of calling it a ‘vexed’ issue. His remark, not the action to keep the promise, infuriated lakhs of ex-servicemen and pushed two decorated war veterans into boycotting an event attended by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar last week. Many have decided to boycott all government functions.
Regrettably, the PM neither identified the so-called problems involved in implementing OROP nor did he make any time-bound commitment. His comment "two or three steps remain so can't give you a specific time," betrays non-seriousness of the Central Government on this sensitive issue. Why the BJP Government could not tackle the matter in the last one year, she asked. Instead of advising ex-servicemen to be patient, the PM should figure out the bureaucratic hurdles and pull them down, she added.Choudhry said that the Supreme Court had directed the government to implement OROP. In February, 2015, the apex court gave three more months to the government, saying non-implementation by the end of it will amount to contempt of court. The time limit has ended in May but the Modi Government refuses to act, she pointed out.