OROP issue: Ex-serviceman commits suicide in Delhi after writing letter to Parrikar

A former serviceman on Wednesday committed suicide at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi over the One Rank One Pension (OROP) issue.Ram Kishan Grewal, the former jawan from Bhiwani district in Haryana who committed suicide, left a note which stated that he was taking this extreme step for the Indian soldiers, eyewitnesses told CNN-News18.CNN-News18 further reported that Grewal's family has blamed the Centre for the former jawan's suicide. Grewal had also written to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar over the issue."Please pay heed to our demands," Grewal had written in his letter.Apart from pointing out that the pension received by the former servicemen was still low, Grewal had also complained in the letter that his former colleagues who had the same rank as him got more pension than him because of the discrepancies in the current pension scheme.He also said that there were many others like him who had not got a hike in their pension."He called us and informed that he is committing suicide as the government has failed to fulfill their demands related to OROP," ANI quoted Grewal's son as saying.Jagdish Rai, Grewal's friend, also told CNN-News18 that Grewal should be treated like a martyr because he "sacrificed his life for other soldiers"."I was with Grewal during the OROP protest. He should be treated like a martyr," Rai said.Reports suggest that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will visit Grewal's family. The Delhi CM also lashed out at the Centre and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was lying when he talked about implementing OROP.The OROP scheme has been a long-standing demand of the over two million ex-servicemen of India. It seeks to ensure that a uniform pension is paid to the defence personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service, irrespective of their date of retirement.The one-man judicial committee on OROP set up by the government had submitted its report to Parrikar in October this year.The Centre had appointed the committee under the chairmanship of retired Chief Justice of Patna High Court L Narasimha Reddy to look into the anomalies, if any, arising out of implementation of OROP.The judicial committee had held hearings at around 20 cities and towns across the country and interacted with cross sections of ex-servicemen as well as their associations.The committee had also received 704 representations from individuals and various ex-servicemen associations and had held extensive interactions with all stakeholders before submitting its report.(With inputs from PTI)