Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal today alleged that Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and his party leaders were shedding "crocodile tears" on the OROP issue.
"The Congress party did not do anything in its 40-year rule to resolve the issue and was now trying to mislead people. It is politicising the sensitive issue to get political mileage," he alleged in a statement.
Dhumal claimed the OROP issue was first raised by him in the Lok Sabha in 1990.
"Congress leaders misled ex-servicemen on this issue by making false promises. But when the demand started gaining momentum in 2013, the then UPA government made a provision of only Rs 500 crore and played with the sentiments of ex-soldiers," he alleged.
"It was Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi who called the shots and then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh failed to do anything for ex-servicemen during UPA's 10-year rule," Dhumal said.
He asked ex-servicemen to remain "vigilant against the sinister designs of the Congress".
"Ex-servicemen should not forget that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government had already released Rs 5,500 crore for implementing OROP and more funds would be released to ensure that every ex-soldier benefits," he said.
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