OROP war over, veterans want their medals to be returned
Nearly 20,000 medals were given back during the agitation.
The long-standing demand for one rank one pension (OROP) in the Indian armed forces was accepted by the Modi government last year. Enroute putting pressure on the government to get their demands approved, many of the decorated war veterans had given up their service medals. But now with OROP implemented, the veterans want their prized medals back.
According to a Times of India report, nearly 20,000 medals were given back and are currently lying at President Pranab Mukherjee’s office. One of the organisations at the forefront of the agitation was the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM) who has written to the MoD, asking for their medals back. IESM chairman Lt Gen (retd) Raj Kadyan told the daily that he did not consider the unsanctioned portion of the OROP serious enough now, to merit the medals to be still kept with the government.
There are still some grievances among a section of the veterans regarding the OROP issue saying that the government hasn’t fully met their demands. But it looks like those are not major enough for army men to part with their treasured medals won after valiantly fighting in the line of duty. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar also said earlier that most of the veterans are happy with the OROP scheme implemented by the government.
Source : DNA India