BJP defends Jaitley, says Govt. committed to end OROP deadlock

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday reiterated its stand on ending the One-Rank-One-Pension (OROP) scheme deadlock, after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley virtually rejected a key demand of ex-servicemen asking for parity in pensions, saying the latter's comment has been 'misinterpreted'.

"This is a misinterpretation of his (Arun Jaitley) comments. The prime minister has said this from the ramparts of Red Fort that he will try to solve the OROP. The process is conducted at the highest level," said BJP leader M J Akbar.

He also said the government is fully committed to solve the deadlock and the highest officials of the country are engaged in finding out the answers.

On Monday Jaitley said the OROP scheme couldn't hike an ex-soldier's dues annually, as demanded by former war veterans, saying, it wasn't done anywhere in the world and would be a liability for future generations.

"I have my own formula on what OROP means. Somebody else may have their own formula on OROP, but it has to be within a reasonable and rational criteria. You can't have an OROP where pensions are revised every month, or every year," said Jaitley.