'I lost eight and a half kilos', says Col. (Retd.) Pushpendra after ending hunger strike

With the hunger strike being called off on Sunday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assurance over the implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme, Colonel (Retd.) Pushpendra expressed happiness and said that he lost eight and a half kilograms during 23 days of fasting.

"We are very happy. We called off our hunger strike, our families are happy...I have lost eight and a half kilos in the last 23 days of hunger strike," the retired Colonel told media here.

"We have ended our hunger strike on the assurance given by the Prime Minister," said Havaldar (Retd.) Major Singh, who was also on hunger strike.

The retired veterans called off their hunger strike after Major General (Retired) Satbir Singh fed the war veterans today.

Earlier Prime Minister Modi had said that people were being misguided about the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) policy and added that the applied scheme would benefit all the sections of the defence forces.