OROP: Shake hands with government, veterans. Move on with honour
Within three weeks of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort, the government is all set to roll out One Rank One Pension (OROP). The government has conceded two of the three main demands of the veterans and has talked about setting up a commission to address any anomalies. The veterans have outrightly rejected the government offer.
There have been two rounds of backchannel negotiations between Nripendra Mishra, principal secretary to the prime minister, and the veterans led by major general (retd) Satbir Singh with general Dalbir Singh, chief of the Army staff (COAS) mediating. The veterans have also had several rounds of negotiations with Rajiv Chandrashekhar, member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) from Karnataka. Some veterans have also met and briefed Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders, seeking their intervention.
The government, as first reported by my colleague at India Today TV, Rahul Kanwal, came out with its best offer: OROP to be implemented from July 1, 2014 and 2013 to be used as the base year for calculation of pension. The government, however, did not accept the veterans' demand for an annual review of pension, calling it an administrative nightmare. The government set the bar of review and equalisation every five years.
The veterans who have been on a relay hunger strike for 83 days and some on fast unto death since August 16 have rejected the government’s offer, insisting on an annual review of pension. "We can at best accept a review every two years but not every five years because that would be one rank five pensions and not OROP," major general (retd) Singh thundered. He has now threatened to take the agitation not only to poll-bound Bihar, but even to Punjab, which has a sizeable ex-servicemen population, ahead of Punjab polls.
Let us take a closer look at the fight for OROP. This has been a longstanding demand of the ex-servicemen. For four decades they have waited for OROP. Ahead of the Lok Sabha election, the Congress set aside Rs 500 crore and declared it had implemented OROP. The veterans thanked the Congress but told them the bill was Rs 8,500 crore. After the election, the BJP government set aside Rs 1,000 crore for OROP. It still falls short of the Rs 8,500 crore requirement.
The veterans on a hunger strike have put forward three main demands:
1. Accept 2013-14 as the base year for calculation of pension.
2. Implement OROP from April 1, 2014.
3. Annual review of pension for OROP.
Top sources in the government say the ministry of finance put its foot down saying this is not implementable. The government came up with a counter offer:
1. Accept 2011 as the base year for calculation of pension.
2. Implementation of OROP from April 1, 2015.
3. Review every ten years, later moderated to every five years.
The veterans have intensified their stir. The prime minister’s office (PMO) intervened and two of the three demands of the veterans were met. Regarding the third, the government tried to explain that the monthly increase, on an average, to a soldier’s pension would be approximately Rs 40 per month and Rs 500 annually, but calculating and depositing it in each account annually may not be feasible. Of course, the pension would vary at every rank and length of service.
Government sources also indicate that service records are maintained for a period of 25 years and only some old records are manually being maintained. So the government suggested, with records now being maintained, that it is easier to update them once every five years instead of annually. It is the veterans’ money, and they will get it with interest every five years.
Is holding up OROP for Rs 40 per month in national interest?
Following the OROP stir, colleague Jugal Purohit dug out the Army and Indian Air Force (IAF) presentation to the Rajya Sabha committee for grant of OROP. On page five of the report, the Army representative submits: "... there is administrative difficulty on the part of the ministry that pensioners cannot be given increment every year. So perpetually they will never be at par with current retirees. As a way out, he suggested fixing a period of five years or every pay commission-to-pay commission for bringing all pensioners at par. He suggested similar exercise for the family pensioners also."
This was not just the Army's view in 2011.
Point 6.5 of the report says: "The representative of the Air Force submitted that to bridge this gap, the suggestion regarding fixation of pay in five year period or pay commission-to-pay commission was a good one and informed the committee that the long-pending issue may be sorted out this way."
Loud and clear
Dear veterans, if the government has conceded two of your three demands, and if the armed forces had suggested a five-year equalisation period in 2011, why is it unacceptable to you four years later?
Veterans are fighting for honour, dignity and parity. Is there more dignity in street protests in Bihar and Punjab, and perhaps across 800 other places (as the veterans say) than just accepting the government offer? Perhaps the government may climb down another notch and agree to a review and consider equalisation every three years and sweeten the deal. But seriously, the veterans must shake hands now with government, and move on with honour and dignity intact.