Do not mislead veterans, says PM

New Delhi: Seeking to set the record straight, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday made it clear that armed forces personnel who have had to leave the services prematurely would be covered by one rank, one pension. Mr Modi’s comments came following the government’s OROP announcement on Saturday that had caused confusion among ex-servicemen.

Speaking at a rally in Faridabad on Sunday, Mr Modi deprecated efforts to “mislead” servicemen on early retirement benefits. “Some people feel that those who have to leave the job after 15-17 years of service will not get OROP. My jawan brothers, whether it is a havaldar, a sepoy or a naik, you are the ones who secure the nation. If anybody gets OROP, you will be the first,” Mr Modi said.

“Those who have lost any part of their body while fighting a war and had to leave the Army, can they be deprived of OROP? A Prime Minister who loves the armed forces can never even think about it. All such people will get OROP. That is why, out of Rs 8,000 - Rs10,000 crore, the maximum will go to those jawans who have to leave the armed forces after serving for 15-17 years,” he added, while noting that such soldiers constitute 80-90 per cent of the armed forces.

The Prime Minister contended that in the name of VRS (voluntary retirement from service), “efforts are being made to mislead you (soldiers), which is wrong. This government is clear that we had made a promise to the jawans, who live and die for the nation, and on Saturday we made the announcement.”

Lashing out at the previous UPA government, Mr Modi said, “Even those who proposed Rs 500 crore for OROP could not understand the issue,” adding, “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...  One-upmanship will not help the nation..... There’s a new fashion that when the government takes a good decision it is questioned by those who do not want development.”