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One Rank One Pension Protest Eclipsed by Sushma Coverage

Sushma Swaraj-Lalit Modi, “Cow as Rashtra Mata” & Anna Hazare’s birthday threaten to overshadow the OROP agitation

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India
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On Sunday, the Modi government’s failure to provide a deadline for the implementation of One Rank One Pension brought our veterans out on the streets in 59 cities.

But you probably missed the action because of the big breaking news about Sushma Swaraj helping an alleged scamster get a passport to travel to Portugal for his wife’s (not yet confirmed) surgery. What followed were hectic “newsbreaks” on Times Now on a story that originally appeared on London’s The Sunday Times and a desperate catch-up effort by competing news channels.

Sunday’s rainy morning appeared to have washed away any interest in the OROP protest.

Sushma Swaraj-Lalit Modi, “Cow as Rashtra Mata” & Anna Hazare’s birthday threaten to overshadow the OROP agitation
Not just Jantar Mantar, ex-servicemen protested in 59 cities across the country on Sunday (ANI screen grab)

On Monday, Sushma and Lalit Modi continued to give OROP protesters a run for their money. They also faced stiff competition from Anna Hazare’s supporters who were celebrating his 78th birthday and a rather loud protest group that wants the cow to be declared our “Rashtra Mata”.

Major General (Retd) Satbir Singh admits he’s disappointed with the media response to the OROP agitation. He was to appear on Times Now on Sunday, but a phone call cancelled the appointment.

The Sushma story went on air at 9 am and after that no one came to us. Was it meant to play out that way? And even if it was a genuine newsbreak, was it necessary to announce it at that time? “The Nation” is making it into a big, world issue, but is it that important that you leave the soldiers behind?
– Major General (retd.) Satbir Singh, Ex-servicemen Association

But the fight for One Rank One Pension is three decades long. Neither the rain nor the continued focus on the Sushma-Keith Vaz-Lalit Modi story could stop the ex-servicemen from showing up at Jantar Mantar on Monday morning.

Among them was a woman – Sujata Sangwan. The proud daughter of General Umrao Singh who fought in World War II, the 1962 war against China and the 1965 War with Pakistan, Sujata says he felt terrible about missing ’71.

Sushma Swaraj-Lalit Modi, “Cow as Rashtra Mata” & Anna Hazare’s birthday threaten to overshadow the OROP agitation
Sujata Sangwan says her father’s tank caught fire in one of the three wars that he fought. She says she is fighting for her mother’s right to OROP.

Sujata’s father suffered permanent injuries from shrapnel in his calves which remained in his body till he died. “The poison”, she says “spread in his body through his lifetime”.

I’m here to support my dad and my mom who is still surviving and waiting for One Rank One Pension. When I see people with billions of rupees in Delhi and in Mumbai and Mr Ambani living in his plush palatial home, I feel this nation has progressed and times have changed and we need our rights too.
– Sujata Sangwan demands OROP for war widow

Lance Naik Kuldeep Singh listens quietly. But at 6 feet 5 inches, it is difficult for him to stay in the background. He was part of Operation Meghdoot, when India occupied the forbidding Siachen glacier. He was also part of Operation Bluestar, when the Army entered the Golden Temple.

Sushma Swaraj-Lalit Modi, “Cow as Rashtra Mata” & Anna Hazare’s birthday threaten to overshadow the OROP agitation
Lance Naik (Retd) Kuldeep Singh says “I left my children to fight at the border. Ladakh, Siachen, Sikkim, Assam, Jaipur, Barmer, Bikaner, Bhatinda. I’ve been everywhere”

Singh says his measly pension and small-time farming income, is not enough to get his children married or build a home.

I was 18 years, 216 days old when I joined the Army. My basic pay was Rs 111. Today, a Lance Naik earns Rs 40,000 to Rs 45,000. They conveniently packed us off with Rs 10,500 in pension.
– Lance Naik (Retd) Kuldeep Singh

But what will Lance Naik Kuldeep Singh do if the government says it does not have the money for One Rank One Pension? He has a simple answer.

We will simply get up and end the dharna. We’ll shut up and stay calm. If Narendra Modi doesn’t have the money, then what is the point asking him? But he has allocated money for this. They have promised OROP, now they need to walk the talk.
– Lance Naik (Retd) Kuldeep Singh

Sushma Swaraj-Lalit Modi, “Cow as Rashtra Mata” & Anna Hazare’s birthday threaten to overshadow the OROP agitation
Lt Col (Retd) Inderjit Singh started the OROP movement and predicts the Modi government will try and blame the 7th Pay Commission for not implementing OROP.

It is for people like Lance Naik Kuldeep Singh that Lt Col (Retd) Inderjit Singh started the movement for One Rank One Pension 33 years ago. He’s been successful in getting the government to make corrections twice, but this, he admits, is the long fight.

I had predicted this six months earlier that they will delay OROP till the 7th Pay Commission. They will say we haven’t been able to solve this financial dilemma. The Pay Commission is bound to say OROP is unfeasible. So the government will have an easy way out.
– Lt Col (Retd) Inderjit Singh, Ex-servicemen Association

Sushma Swaraj-Lalit Modi, “Cow as Rashtra Mata” & Anna Hazare’s birthday threaten to overshadow the OROP agitation
79-year old Major General (Retd) Jagjit Singh Rishi rues the fact that he couldn’t fight the Kargil war, “because unfortunately I retired in 1986”.

Speakers start blaring “Dil diya hai, jaan bhi denge, aiy vatan tere liye”, from the nearby stage that wants the cow to be declared ‘Rashtra Maata’. But Major General (Retd) Jagjit Singh Rishi is a patient man. It’s been a 33-year long wait for OROP, so a few hours don’t really matter.

When the music dies, his anger surfaces. He’s read reports that the definition of One Rank One Pension is being tampered with, and he is not happy.

Definition of Koshiyari Committee was that soldiers should get same pension regardless of when they retire and the benefits should be passed on to those who did not get it earlier. Junior ranks, particularly ORs who retire between 35 to 45 who are sent home in the prime of their lives.
– Major General (Retd) Jagjit Singh Rishi

The music starts blaring again, as do “Newsbreaks” on TV screens across the country over Sushma Swaraj. But let’s take a moment to think about a motley crew that is a on a relay hunger strike at Jantar Mantar for something as basic as pensions.

(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)

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