OROP will be implemented before Diwali: Defence minister Manohar Parrikar

NEW DELHI: Defence minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday announced that one rank, one pension scheme will be implemented before Diwali. His announcement has come after ex-servicemen said that they would return their medals across the country next week.

"The government has delayed the notification of OROP under the pretext of Model Code of Conduct in place due to Bihar polls. We fear that the notification will not take into account our demand for which we have been on protest over the last 145 days at Jantar Mantar and across the country," Gp Capt (retd) V K Gandhi, general secretary of Indian ex-servicemen Movement said.

The Central government will come out with a formal notification next week once the model code ends on November 12.

Though the government had announced OROP scheme on September 5, a section of the veterans had continued their protest citing seven lacunae, including annual equalisation, 2013-14 as the base year among others.

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