Saturday, 29 January 2022 | PNS | Dehradun
Accusing the Narendra Modi government of hurting the interests of the armed forces and personnel the general secretary of All India Congress Committee (AICC) and media in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala has said that the BJP government has only used the valour of the army to fulfill its vested political interests. Interacting with the media persons here on Friday the senior Congress leader said that the government has informed the parliament that 1,22,555 posts are lying vacant in the armed forces which is compromising with the security of the country. He said that on November 7, 2015 the Modi government changed the order of One Rank One Pension (OROP) given by the Congress government and snatched the benefit of OROP from 30 to 40 per cent soldiers. Surjewala said that the personnel opting for voluntary retirement after July 1, 2014 would not get the benefit of OROP. Similarly this benefit would not be given to the most of the personnel who usually retire after 17 to 18 years of service. He said that by refusing to revise the pensions every year the Modi government has actually given ‘one rank five pensions’ to ex servicemen instead of OROP by deciding to revise the pensions after five years. Providing data the Congress leader claimed that the Modi government has affected a drastic cut in the budget of ECHS due to which many empanelled hospitals are refusing treatment to ex servicemen. He added that the BJP government has set up a maximum limit of Rs 10,000 per month on purchase of goods from CSD canteens and has imposed GST on the items sold in the canteens. Taking a dig at PM Modi for changing seven cars in the last five years, Surjewala said that now the armed forces personnel can purchase only one car during his service and the engine of the car should not be of more than 1,800 cc capacity. He said that from June 2019 the Modi government has made the disability pension of soldiers taxable which is shameful. Surjewala said that the Supreme Court (SC) had banned this order but the government is contesting the case in the court. Surjewala also accused the BJP government of partisan attitude with the armed forces personnel in the seventh pay commission. Giving examples, the Congress leader said that there is a major disparity in the disability pension of an armed forces personnel and civilian officer. “A soldier posted in the highest battlefield Siachen gets a monthly risk allowance of Rs 31,500 but an IAS officer posted in Guwahati gets a hardship allowance of Rs 70,000 per month. Similarly a Brigadier rank officer of Army posted in Leh would get an additional allowance of Rs 17,000 per month but a civilian officer posted there will get an additional allowance of Rs 50,000,’’ he said. The Congress leader accused the Modi government for ignoring the demand of Non Functional Upgradation (NFU) and having a partisan attitude towards the soldiers of para military forces.
Senior Congress leader Mohan Prakash, national spokesman Gaurav Vallabh, general secretary (Organisation) Mathura Dutt Joshi, head of the ex-servicemen wing B S Rawat and media in charge Rajiv Mehrishi were also present on the occasion.
