STATE TIMES NEWS
BISHNAH: A candlelight march was taken out here to expose the BJP-led Central Government’s mishandling of One Rank One Pension (OROP) issue that has lead to committing of suicide by an Ex-serviceman in Delhi to register his protest.
Protesters also expressed their resentment against Centre’s undemocratic move to prevent Congress Vice President, Rahul Gandhi from protesting against the high handedness of the government in dealing with ex-servicemen community particularly in using force against the family of the deceased ex-servicemen, who were arrested and beaten up at a time when the body of their family member was lying in the hospital.
Addressing the gathering that included a strong contingent of ex-servicemen belonging to this entire border belt, senior Congress leader Mohinder Bhardwaj said that the act of preventing Rahul Gandhi from raising his voice on the issue of OROP and maltreatment of the former soldier’s family was a blatant attempt by the Narendra Modi to muzzle democratic values. He castigated the Government for misleading the country on OROP.
“If OROP had been implemented as the government claims then why are the ex-servicemen persistently protesting on the roads demanding justice,” he asked.
Bhardwaj also condemned Pakistan for unprovoked firing leading to unsettling people residing near International Border and Line of Control. The situation has further worsened due to government’s neglect of this displaced section of people living in make-shift camps.
Ashok Dubey, Organising Secretary, Ashwani Puri, Organising Secretary PCC, Ghanshyam Sharma, Darshan Kumar, Rajesh Kumar, Ex-Captain P.L Sharma, Ex-Captain Om Prakash, Ex-Captain Harbans Lal, Krishan Lal, Ex- Naik Balkrishan, Subedar Sohan Lal, Naik Vijay Kumar and several Congress workers were also present.
Meanwhile, Congress President G.A Mir led a candle light protest in Samba, in solidarity with the Ex-servicemen, demanding implementation of OROP. He said that the Central Government has hoodwinked the Ex-Servicemen of this country and not fulfilled their demands as promised.
Among those who joined the protest include Prakesh Sharma District President Samba, Manjit Singh, Subash Bhagat, Vinod Mishra, Babbal Gupta, Sanjeev Sharma and Paramjit Singh Pamma.
