Told to skip ex-servicemen’s rally, Amarinder unhappy
Saturday, 13/06/2015
http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Tribune/
Chandigarh : Reiterating his support for the one-rank-one-pension (OROP) formula for military veterans, Congress deputy leader in Lok Sabha Capt Amarinder Singh today said he regretted the Indian Ex-Servicemen League’s (IESL) decision to ask him not to attend the ex-servicemen’s rally in Delhi on June 14.
In a statement issued here today, Capt Amarinder said he had received a communication from the state unit of the league. Amarinder quoted IESL president Lt Gen Balbir Yadav (retd), saying that his participation in the rally might be taken adversely by the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party at the Centre.
The communiqué comes a day after ex-servicemen’s associations from the state announced that they would spearhead the rally being held in Delhi to protest the non-implementation of OROP despite several promises. Ex-servicemen from different parts of the country are expected to attend the rally.
The former Chief Minister said he felt bad about the league’s decision as he was primarily an ex-serviceman and his political affiliations came later. “We all belong to the same fraternity of the ex-servicemen, irrespective of the party we may represent,” he said.
Giving his best wishes for the rally, Capt said he hoped it would wake up the BJP government at the Centre to grant OROP to about 25 lakh ex-servicemen of the country.
