Ex-servicemen disappointed on OROP judgement. Betrayal, says Congress

Ex-servicemen expressed disappointment on Wednesday with the Supreme Court's decision in their case challenging the Centre's implementation of the one rank, one pension (OROP) scheme, which was announced by the BJP-led government in 2015.

The Supreme Court upheld the government's implementation of the scheme and found no merit in the ex-servicemen petitioners' main demand that veterans' pensions be automatically revised every year.

“We respect the Supreme Court’s ruling but our position on the matter remains the same. We have still not been given OROP. What we have got is one rank many pensions,” said Group Captain VK Gandhi (retd), vice chairman, Indian Ex-servicemen Movement.

He said the November 7 notification, issued by the defence ministry, for the implementation of OROP from July 1, 2014, had contradictory provisions.

“On the one hand, it talked about uniform pension for former servicemen. On the other, it prescribed a revision once in five years. The two don’t go together,” Gandhi said.

The veteran community is disheartened and feels it has been given step-motherly treatment by the government, said Colonel Mukul Dev (retd), a former officer in the army’s Judge Advocate General branch. “Pension revision once in five years amounts to one rank five pensions,” he added.

The contention of veterans is that the current OROP model will result in senior officers receiving lesser pension than junior officers.

While a defence ministry spokesperson did not comment on the Supreme Court ruling, officials said the government had implemented the November 7 order and delivered what was promised to veterans.

The Congress party accused the government of betraying former servicemen.

“OROP Denied - it is now “One Rank, Five Pensions”! Ex Servicemen & Armed Forces betrayed by our own Govt, which opposed right of persons “holding the same rank, with the same length of service to get same pension, irrespective of date of retirement,” Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said on Twitter.