STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: The Ex-Servicemen Cell of the Bharatiya Janata Party has welcomed a series of announcements made by the Raksha Mantri Manohar Parrikar. The various measures taken by the government are: pro-active steps to counter Pak sponsored proxy war and repeated violations of ceasefire; not to pursue court cases against ex-servicemen and disabled soldiers; on-line enrolment for recruitment in the army and implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP).
Brig (Retd) Anil Gupta, State Convener of the Ex-Servicemen Cell, said that these decisions of the government would have far reaching effect on the welfare of the large veteran community and the residents of border areas in the State.
He hoped that the proactive measures initiated by the government would soon fructify and force Pakistan to stop unprovoked violation of ceasefire and shelling of the civilian areas. He also appreciated the measures taken by the Modi government to create “safe-zones” in the rear areas close to the border for which the state government has been asked by the union home ministry to identify land.
Brig Gupta thanked the Central Government for the sincerity displayed by the home ministry in mitigating the plight of the border residents and addressing their long pending grievances as a result of total neglect by the previous governments.
He hailed the decision of the government to not to pursue court cases against the ex-servicemen and disabled soldiers as humanitarian and historic.
Before the issue of this decision every decision by the Armed Forces Tribunal or lower courts in favour of the aggrieved ex-servicemen was invariably challenged by the MOD in higher courts leading to harassment and delay in implementation.