Sangh leaders ask government to implement OROP

Top leaders and workers of RSS and its affiliates kicked off the three-day samanvaya baithak here today

Leaders of Rashtriya Swayamasevak Sangh (RSS)-affiliated outfits on Wednesday requested senior ministers such as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to implement the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s poll promise of ‘one rank, one pension’ (OROP) for retired defence personnel at the earliest.

A three-day samanvaya baithak (coordination meeting) is underway in the national capital, in which seniors of the Sangh Parivar organisations, including those of the BJP, discussed the economic situation in the country, challenges on the foreign policy front and the coming Bihar elections.

Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Manohar Parrikar, Venkaiah Naidu, Anant Kumar, JP Nadda, beside BJP chief Amit Shah and several other ministers attended the meeting. External Affairs Minister Swaraj spoke on the India-Pakistan talks, Bangladesh and the Naga accord.

According to sources present in the meeting, the OROP issue was raised with the ministers on the sidelines of the meeting. Sangh Parivar leaders gave feedback of their perception of the government’s inability to deliver on the OROP issue.

BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav said OROP was not part of the official deliberations. But sources present at the meeting maintained that top Sangh leaders raised the issue with senior ministers Jaitley, Singh and Parrikar during the lunch break and tried to understand the delay in delivering on the promise. They also conveyed to the ministers how retired defence personnel have backed the BJP to the hilt in the elections to the Lok Sabha and state Assembly polls. One of the Sangh leaders even suggested that the government should constitute a commission, on lines of the pay commission, to look into the pension hike.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat presided over the meeting which was attended by representatives of 15 Sangh associates, including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch and the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also slated to attend the meeting that will continue till Friday.

Governance issues like the land Bill and the Patels’ reservation agitation in Gujarat and recent Census figures are also on the list of items to be discussed.