Congress to go all out against Modi govt over ‘OROP suicide’
Rahul Gandhi played an important role in the UPA’s decision on OROP. Many times, he requested then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and all of us in the government to implement it as soon as possible.
NEW DELHI: The Congress has decided to step up its offensive against the BJP-led NDA government on the one-rank onepension (OROP) issue in a bid to strike a chord with around 3 million ex-servicemen.
The day-long developments on Wednesday saw Congress vicepresident Rahul Gandhi being detained twice by the Delhi police after he tried to meet the family of ex-soldier Ram Kishen Grewal who committed suicide over the issue.
The tragic incident has put the BJP on a mat after it appeared to have seized political advantage from the September 29 surgical strikes against terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC). OROP is likely to dominate the campaign in poll-bound states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand where the AK ANTONY,
Former defence minister
armed forces enjoy mass appeal.
Congress sources said the party will not only take to the streets the streets on the issue but also raise it vociferously in Parliament during the winter session, beginning November 16.
“Our struggle will continue till the soldiers get justice,” said Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala.
For his part, Gandhi has been demanding the implementation of OROP even when the Congress-led UPA was in power. He had persuaded the finance ministry to approve OROP to enable the retired soldiers of the same rank and the same length of service get the same pension, irrespective of when they retired.
“Rahul Gandhi played an important role in the UPA’s decision on OROP. Many times, he requested then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and all of us in the government to implement it as soon as possible,” former defence minister AK Antony said.
Last week, Gandhi wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue.
The Congress strategy is also prompted by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) move to leverage support from the issue in its bid to emerge as a challenger to the BJP at the national level.