Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 9

Even as ex-servicemen have expressed their dissatisfaction over the terms of the ‘one rank, one pension’ (OROP) scheme, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today ruled out any more concessions on OROP.
Parrikar said “This is democracy. Everyone has the right to demand. But the maximum… their main demand for same pension for same rank has been given. Rest is everything that we had declared (on September 5). Out of that, the confusion about VRS has been removed,” Parrikar said on the sidelines of a function in New Delhi. VRS is known as pre-mature retirement (PMR) in the forces.
The minister said the “basic core issue” had been addressed and if there was a problem, the judicial commission would look into that. He was replying to questions on veterans being unhappy with the OROP notification issued by the government on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Air Force Chief Arup Raha said the government had given directions on the OROP issue and everyone should accept it.
He said if anomalies were still persisting, these could be sorted out in due course of time. The notification does not include the demands for an annual equalisation of revised pension, for pegging the pension to the maximum of the current pensioners, and for appointing an expert commission with serving military personnel and ex-servicemen representatives.
Ex-servicemen, who have been protesting at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi since June, rejected the notification. Maj Gen Satbir Singh (Retd), Chairman of Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement spearheading the protest, had said, “The notification will not be acceptable to the rank and file. It is not one rank, one pension but one, rank, five pensions”.