OROP stand-off continues; veterans threaten to intensify stir

The stand-off over 'One Rank One Pension' (OROP) today showed no signs of easing with the agitating ex-servicemen rejecting revision of pension every five years and threatening to intensify their protest if the government makes a unilateral announcement as is being speculated.
Amid persistent reports that the government would go ahead with the announcement in the next couple of days before the model code of conduct sets in ahead of Bihar polls, Maj Gen (Retd) Satbir Singh, spokesman of the retired personnel, made it clear that the sticking point was the revision of pension.
Singh, Chairman of Indian Ex-servicemen Movement, said tonight they were willing to agree to 2014 as the base year for acceptance of OROP and July of that year for payment of arrears but insisted that the revision should be every year.

"We reject any unilateral action by the government which does not meet our key demands. We will not accept. We will intensify our agitation across the country taking it from 80 to 800 places," he asserted.