Ex-serviceman Rally
The Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM) is organising a “March for Justice” in which thousands of former soldiers, many of them gallantry award winners, would participate on Sunday (July 6). The rally is being conducted at many places across the country and in Coimbatore it would be held at Gandhipuram. The objective of the rally would be to protest against the ‘injustice’ done to the serving and retired defence personnel by the Sixth Pay Commission.A release from IESM said that the armed forces had fully honoured their part of the bargain and it was time for the country to fulfil theirs. IESM said that Government must look into the issues raised by the armed forces who fear alienation. Recommendations of the sixth pay commission were a blow to the morale of the armed forces and now the review committee is dragging its feet to achieve another conundrum. The Indian Ex Servicemen were clear in their demands and the availability of resources was looked at before putting up their demands so that they were reasonable and justified. However, the bureaucrats have been trying to create a ‘caste system’ in the Government and have been aided by the sixth pay commission.
“The bureaucrats have usurped the slot of the highest caste who supposedly deem themselves to deserve the icing on the pay commission cake”. “India is not a banana republic and the Indian armed forces are not mercenaries.” The erosion of these values and traditions is irreparable. The demands of the ex-servicemen included; One-Rank-One-Pension, which is a long pending demand aimed at protecting the interests of the older pensioners. OROP had been stated as the policy of all mainstream political parties.
Even the Congress party had included this in the election manifesto by saying “long-pending issue of ‘one-rank one pension’ will once again be re-examined to seek a satisfactory solution.” Every soldier and officer must be given assured employment till the age of 60-years, which was the retiring age for all other Government employees. The ex-servicemen also demand constitution of an ex-servicemen commission with statutory powers to safeguard their interests.All committees/commissions and other Government bodies where issues affecting the interests of ex-servicemen are being considered must have ex-servicemen representation.
