18 Mar 2009 03:56:00 AM IST
BANGALORE: Every vote counts. And at the time of elections, even of those whose pleas have been ignored so far. BJP prime ministerial candidate L K Advani has gone all out to assure ex-servicemen that if voted to power his party would implement the ‘One Rank One Pension’ policy.
This assurance given by Advani is not enough to appease the ex-servicemen who have been returning their gallantry medals protesting the government’s lack of concern for their demand of pension parity.
Major Gen (Retd) Satbir Singh, vice-chairman of the Indian Ex-servicemen Movement has termed Advani’s assurance as a political statement and that the veterans of the three armed forces will not vote for any party based on promises made in the runup to the elections.
“There have been assurances in the past made by both the NDA and the UPA on the One Rank One Pension policy for ex-servicemen, but nothing has materialised,” he said.
On Advani’s assurance on the long-pending demand, he said that if the BJP leader makes an announcement at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi where the ex-servicemen have been staging a hunger strike since December 16 last year, then they would be convinced.
“Let him make a public statement at the venue where we are protesting for the past 90 days, only then we will be convinced. Till today no politician has called on us,” he said. Around 7,500 medals have been surrendered by the exservicemen in protest so far.
Advani’s promise leaves ex-servicemen unmoved
Filling the submarine gap
2 days ago
No comments:
Post a Comment