Ex-paramilitary personnel demand OROP

Over 200 retired paramilitary personnel on Monday launched a three-day protest here demanding 'One Rank One Pension' (OROP) for around 13 lakh retired and serving personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF).

The retired paramilitary personnel, under the banner of Delhi-based All India Central Paramilitary Forces Ex-servicemen Welfare Association, gathered at Jantar Mantar in central Delhi demanding OROP and several other rights for CAPF personnel under central civil services rules.

A retired paramilitary officer, participating in the protest, told IANS that the CAPF should be treated at par with the armed forces.

He said CAPF personnel were part of all the wars -- 1965, 1971 and the 1999 Kargil war -- as they had fought along with the Indian Army and were the "first line of defence".

He said that since Independence, 22,250 army personnel lost their lives in various battles, while 33,678 CAPF personnel were killed in the line of duty.

Speaking to IANS, many other retired CAPF officials said the announcement of OROP for the army reflected the "discriminatory" attitude of the government towards them.

"We are the first line of defence in the country and guarding the national border, Maoist-affected areas, the border with Pakistan or the insurgency-hit Jammu and Kashmir and the northeastern states," said P.S. Nair, general secretary of the association.

"A number of our personnel are killed in the line of duty every year. We don't understand why the government is ignoring us in providing central facilities like other armed forces. All CAPF personnel should be provided benefits," Nair said.