New Delhi: Ex-servicemen are unhappy with the pension hike announced by government saying it amounted to "wrong and deceitful" treatment of their long-pending 'One Rank One Pension' demand and vowed to continue struggle for their rights.
"It is deceiving. Government has wrongly interpreted the term 'One Rank One Pension' (OROP). They have not given OROP, instead they have just merely made an enhancement in pension," said Chairman, Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM), retired Lt Gen Raj Kadyan.
IESM on Tuesday also wrote letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Defence Minister AK Antony and the three Service chiefs explaining how the government decision does not meet their long pending demand to ensure equitable pensions.
"Ex-servicemen expect the government to do justice to them. This announcement has further disillusioned the ex-servicemen fraternity, who have decided to intensify their protest in a dignified manner on all India basis," IESM Vice-Chairman Maj Gen Satbir Singh wrote in the letter to the Prime Minister.
"To illustrate, a sepoy, naik and havlidar have been given an increase of only Rs 400 per month, whereas a sepoy who retired on January 2012 draws approximately Rs 4,000 more than those who retired prior to 2006," he explained in the letter, adding that disparity exists in the officer ranks too.
The government had on Monday announced a decision to address the pensionary issues of ex-servicemen.
"The gap in pension of pre-and post-January 2006 retiree jawans will be bridged by determining the pension of pre-January 2006 pensioners on basis of notional maximum for ranks and groups across three Services as in case of post-January 2006 retirees," it had said in a release.
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