PM slams those trying to 'mislead' armed forces on OROP

In an attack on Congress, he said that those who did nothing for 40 years have no right to ask questions

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today slammed people trying to "mislead" the armed forces over the government's OROP decision and made a veiled attack on Congress saying the party has no right to raise questions since it did nothing in 40 years.

A day after the government announced implementation of one rank-one pension (OROP) which will have a recurring expense of around Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 crore, Modi said it was a "difficult" decision which could have ramifications which are yet to be ascertained.

He said some people are trying to "mislead" the armed forces, particularly on the issue of premature retirement and the setting up of a commission as proposed in the decision.

"Jawans in the army have to retire after 15-17 years of service. A few people think they will not get OROP....They are misleading you by terming it as VRS (voluntary retirement scheme)....

"But if anybody gets OROP jawans will be the first.... Those injured, those who had to compulsarily leave they will get OROP. And the Prime Minister who loves the army cannot even think of depriving such people of OROP benefits," he said at a rally here.

Noting that around 85 per cent of the army constituted of jawans, he said that those who have to compulsarily retire after 15-17 years will benefit the most from this decision. "There is no need to be misled."

Referring to the commission proposed to be set up, he again said that the armed forces should not be misled on the issue also as this is not any pay commission.

"This commission is there to address any shortcomings, if any, to see if any small changes are needed," he said, adding the commission is proposed to be set-up as the issue is complex.

"Even those who proposed Rs 500 crore for OROP could not understand the issue," he said in an apprent reference to the previous government.

In an apparent attack on Congress, he said, "Those who did nothing for 40-42 years, do they have any right to ask questions? They only misled you and committed sins. They want to score political points....Oneupmanship will not help the nation," he said.

"There's a new fashion that when the government takes a good decision it is questioned by those who do not want development," he said.