Shah praises Govt. for resolving OROP deadlock

Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah on Saturday acknowledged the BJP led NDA-Government's efforts in resolving the deadlock of One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme.

"The BJP government has implemented the OROP in such a way that this would benefit a large section of the ex-servicemen. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised that the issue of OROP will be resolved and he has delivered," Shah told media here.

Shah also pointed out that the present regime was actively involved in solving the impasse of OROP for past one year.

"Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar along with the chiefs of all the three services played a key role in it," he added.

Shah criticised the Congress party for not implementing the long standing demand of the ex-servicemen, saying "The Congress government reduced the pension in 1973 but when they were in the last days of their rule in 2014, they made a mockery of the ex-servicemen by allotting a mere Rs. 500 crores for the OROP scheme."

"The government has given new kind of financial benefit to the ex-servicemen," Shah added.

Earlier, Defence Minister Parrikar announced that the government has decided to implement the much awaited OROP scheme and its benefit would be given to all ex-servicemen, excluding voluntary retirees from July 1, 2014.