Activists of the Voice of Ex-servicemen Society carry out a foot march in Amritsar on Tuesday. PHOTO: RK SONI

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 9

In order to raise voice against the ‘exploitation’ and ‘discrimination’ with Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) and Non Commissioned Officers (NCOs) at the hands of their senior officers in the Army, the Voice of Ex-servicemen Society started a foot march from Amritsar here today, which will culminate at Jantar-Mantar in New Delhi.Members of the society started the march from Gateway of India at Attari, paid obeisance at the Golden Temple and also paid tributes at the Jallianwala Bagh during the foot march. BK Jha, national spokesperson of the society, said they would pass through various areas in Punjab and Haryana and culminate the march at Jantar-Mantar on August 25. He said the main motive behind this foot march was to raise the issue of discrimination and exploitation of low- rank officers in the Army, which was considered as a disciplined force.“Officers in the Army still suffer with colonial mindset as they force low-rank officers to polish their shoes, take their pet dogs for walks or made to do other household works,” Jha alleged. He said after retirement, the JCOs, NCOs and other officers faced discrimination and rude behaviour in canteens, sainik rest houses and sainik welfare offices.He alleged that there was discrimination while allotting gas agencies, CNG pumps, petrol pumps, etc, after retirement as a part of officers’ rehabilitation programme.Veer Bahadur Singh, president of the society, said after the third pay commission, the pension of 97 per cent jawans and JCOs was reduced from 75 per cent to 50 per cent on the pretext of poor economic conditions and now, on the OROP issue, they were completely ignored by the government as well as those so called leaders who ‘fought’ for it.