‘Arun Jaitley told us that NDA’s promise on OROP was only meant to win elections,’ reveals Maj Gen Satbir Singh

Exclusive: ‘Arun Jaitley told us that NDA’s promise on OROP was only meant to win elections,’ reveals Maj Gen Satbir Singh

Rifat Jawaid

The chairman of the ex-servicemen movement, Maj Gen(Retd) Satbir Singh, who’s been spearheading  the soldiers’ fight for the implementation of One Rank One Pension has revealed that the Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley had told them the BJP’s poll promises to soldiers were just electioneering tactics and ‘never meant to be honoured.’

Speaking exclusively to jantakareporter.com, Gen Singh said, “One thing I have learnt that what any of these politicians say are never meant to be believed. That’s the rule number one in India. Mr Jaitley when he was the defence minister, had told me, ‘why don’t you lower your expectations?’

“We told him that the OROP had only one definition. It had only one calculation. It had only one implication. We reminded him that this was in their election manifesto. To which he said, ‘You see General, all the assurances that politicians give during elections are not meant to be executed.’ What a shameful thing for him to say in front of ten of us. If a responsible minister says this then I have no faith in the political system.”

Also Read: Exclusive: Narendra Modi has betrayed the very trust of us soldiers: Army General on OROP

The armed forces veteran said he was extremely unhappy with the media fraternity for deliberately spreading misinformation to make the central government look good. He alleged that the media had ‘sold their souls’ by their false reporting that the central government had settled the veterans’ demand on the OROP.

He said, “Media is lying and spreading false information on OROP. They have no sense of journalism. If everything is settled, then where is the notification? Where is the letter? So, for media to say that everything is settled is diabolically stupid. If the journalism has gone shallow in the country, if the media is all purchased and bought and they have no character, then that’s how media starts spreading misinformation. Because somebody including the government pays them and controls them. But whether the media cover our agitation or not, we are continuing with best of our determination.”

Singh also said that one of the national newspapers had even refused to carry the advertisements paid for by the ex-servicemen. He lost his cool while recounting that experience.

Also Read: Social media users erupt in anger on ‘appalling’ treatment of India’s army veterans protesting for OROP

“Times of India refused to carry our advertisement. I have decided not to request the members of India media. One day when they chase me for interviews, I will tell them to get out of my sight. I don’t want to see your faces.”Gen Singh, who had earlier accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of ‘betraying the very trust of Indian soldiers’ attacked him once again. He said he was surprised that the prime minister, his cabinet colleagues and ‘everybody else’ had time to ‘hold talks with terrorists to broker peace with them’ but they ‘cannot talk to their ‘erstwhile soldiers.’

“Can there be bigger shame than this? ” he asked.

On being asked why he had not sought help from political parties or leaders who sympathised with their cause, Gen Singh said he welcomed support from everybody regardless of the political ideologies they believed in. He, however said that the ex-servicemen will not give them the platform to ‘highjack’ their agenda.

He said, “I welcome support from everybody regardless of political parties they represent. Whether they are Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal or anybody else, they must realise that we can’t allow them to use our mic to highjack our agenda. They are most welcome to come and sit and express their support to our cause. We didn’t allow Rahul Gandhi to speak, neither did we allow Derek O’Brian of TMC or Bhupendra Hooda of Congress.”

The army veteran also revealed that the organisers of the NRI event for PM Modi had approached him to speak from the same stage where the prime minister was scheduled to speak, but he refused because he didn’t ant to insult the Indian prime minister.

He said, “When our prime minister visited USA recently, the chairman of the NRIs group in San Francisco, some chap called Jit Bajwa,  wanted me to come along with the prime minister and speak from the same stage from where Mr Modi was likely to speak. They said they wanted to give us a cheque of 1 million dollar for this agitation. I refused both. I said this was my internal matter and I will resolve within my own country. I will not insult India on foreign soil. We’ve been honourable in our fight. Can the government of India reciprocate by honouring their commitment?”

Gen Singh said there were seven shortccomings in the OROP that the Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had announced on 5 September. He said the OROP with those shortcomings will not be acceptable to soldiers.

” If those shortcomings are not removed and government goes ahead with the notification, it will kill the very definition of One Rank One Pension. It will then be called One Rank Five Pension. Because same years of service and same rank going to be reviewed after five years would mean that there will be five pensions. These politicians and babus so illiterate that they don’t even know that the armed forces don’t have the VRS. We have the premature retirement, which is the requirement of the government. They want to have a young army. Therefore, the soldiers have to leave after 17 years in service.”

Indian armed forces veterans have been protesting at Delhi Jantar Mantar for last 121 says with several ex-servicemen and their wives taking part in relay hunger strikes.

The Babu's Venom with Military pension

The Babu's Venom with Military pension: By L t Gen PG Kamath, PVSM,AVSM,YSM, SM (Veteran)

Here is a real story of the Great Babu during the third pay commission, who stabbed the soldiers in their back. Babu's venom is far more poisonous than that of Cobra. The sad fete of Indian Armed Forces in a strong democracy like India. Neither babus nor politicians wanted powerful India. By lowering national military personnel morale, national security being compromised by the politician and babu nexus.. Well written by veteran Lt Gen PG Kamath, PBSM,AVSM,YSM,SM

It was post 1971 and the nation was euphoric. Our countrymen were lauding the Indian Armed Forces for a spectacular victory that had changed the geography of the sub-continent. The nation was savouring the victory and more than 97,368 prisoners were in our Prisoners of War Camps. It was the second largest surrender in the Military History; second only to the surrender of Gen Von Paulus, German, 6th Army at Stalingrad in the Second World War. The Armed Forces were feted everywhere for its courage and the people were convinced that it was one instrument that would never let the country down.Amidst this euphoria there were 4000 families, who had lost their fathers/sons/husbands in the war. Another 10,000 were wounded and maimed for life. They were picking up the lost threads of life to continue their journey in the forbidding world. However their sorrow was lost amidst the mirth, laughter and jubilation of victory.

Unknown to the services a band of bureaucrats were conspiring as to how to cut the Armed Forces to size. Defence Secretary was Mr K B Lal, who was literally there for the entire duration of the Third Pay Commission. He was the one, who provided the inputs to the Third Pay Commission. The Commission was constituted a year before the war and concluded two years after the war. It’s final recommendation marginalising the Armed Forces was made public two months after Fd Marshal Manekshaw relinquished the post of Chief. Indeed it was a clever move as the most popular person in the country was not able to take cudgels against the government. This Pay Commission cut the Armed Forces to size for winning the war for the country. Even Fd Mshl Manekshaw was not spared; more of it later. ‘Ingratitude unkinder than the winters wind’ to adopt Shakespearean phrase to an ungrateful government. How did the Government go about the act?

Firstly they abolished a separate Pay Commission for the Armed Forces and formulated an equivalence between the Armed Forces and Civilians. It was here that the Pay Commission struck its vilest blow when they considered that ‘a trained infantry soldier with three years of service is below a skilled labour. Little do they know that it is the infantry soldier who does the actual fighting and charges the enemy with naked bayonet literally on the very front edge of the battle and makes eye and steel contact with the enemy. He is the one who bears the brunt of more than 90% of casualty in all wars and yet he was considered the lowest strata to base their comparison. It also means that the infantry soldier with less than three years’ service was considered an semi-skilled/unskilled labour? Just mark the irony of the sinister and ignorant move? Rest of the soldiers were equated based on this preposterous formulae?

Next step was to reduce the percentage of pension for the Armed Forces. The OROP that was effective till 1972, was annulled after the third pay commission. A soldier then served only for 15 years and went on pension at the ages ranging from 33 years to 36 years of age. In view of this, his pension was 70% of his basic pay and an officers pension was 50% of his basic pay as the bulk of them retired at 50 years of age. The civilian counterparts were getting only 30% of their basic pay as pension. Please note they served till they were 58 years of age (now 60 years) and the soldiers retired a quarter century earlier. The wretched Third Pay Commission did not consider the additional 25 years of service his civilian counterpart served and raised their pension to 50% and reduced a soldiers pension from 70% to 50% in order to achieve the so-called parity. Further the government put mandatory 33 years of service for full pension fully knowing that the soldier then retired after 15 years of service. They further as a largesse made a seemingly generous gesture to the Armed Forces by pegging the mandatory service for full pension (50%) to 25 years. Just look at the clever move; fully knowing that the soldier retired after 15 years of service. Thus the soldier in effect got only 30% of pay after 15 years of service, as extrapolated from full pension of 50% of pay with 25 years of service. Thus the Government ingeniously cut a soldiers pension from 70% to 30% of pay at the same time enhancing the civilian pension from 30% to 50%. Look at the perfidy; how can possibly a Government run down her own Armed Forces? It is indeed a remarkable feat from a nation that was a slave nation for over two centuries, yet disregards her Armed Forces who ensure her hard earned freedom?

Our Defence Ministry were hand in glove with the proposals. There was not a whimper of protest to set right the injustice. The soldiers had to pay heavily for having won the war for the country. Their travails were not over; more was yet to come!

One would wonder why the soldiers did not protest against the brash injustice perpetrated on them? It would be difficult to believe, as those were the times the officers in particular were told that politics and pay were not to be discussed. They were naïve and had full faith in the government that in the long run; no injustice would be done to them? The disarming naivety of our officers appear incomprehensible now; but it was true then. Hence the entire master stroke of cutting the armed forces to size by impoverishing them was done with so much of dexterity, it took us couple of decades to realise its negative impact.

Mrs Gandhi was feted and was called ‘Durga’ and she basked in the limelight of victory and self-adulation. However, she proved to be the daughter of her illustrious father by sharing the same antipathy and disdain towards the Armed Forces. She was a smart women hence concealed it to a great extent with outer façade of support and derived maximum political mileage of the victory. The running down of the Armed Forces in the Third Pay Commission could not have been done without her active and positive consent?

Their next target was the most popular figure in the country Fd Marshal Manekshaw. He was made a Field Marshall and the appointment is active for life, though ceremonial in nature. A Field Marshall does not retire and continues to wear his five star rank for life. He was entitled to Pay and Allowances for life. The bureaucrats who were literally jealous of his popularity ensured that he did not get his pay and allowances; low and behold! for the next 36 years, and finally a lump sum of ₹ 1.60 crore of arrears was released to him on intervention by then President Abdul Kalam. A non-descript bureaucrat gave him his pension dues on his deathbed in Jun 2007 a few days before he breathed his last. Isn’t it a national tragedy? Don’t you sometimes feel whether the country deserves selfless service from its soldiers? Can any country on this earth be more ungrateful towards her soldiers than ‘Mother India? What a great victory for the MOD for destroying the soldiers pride?

Let us now analyse as to why a soldier fights? Why does he give his life for a cause? What makes him charge through a fusillade of bullets and splinters against sure death and injury overcoming the instinct of self-preservation? Why is he prepared to make his ultimate sacrifice and bid goodbye to the world? Why does he not think of his loving wife, his innocent children, his aged parents and the living world of mirth and bliss; knowing he has not even spent a quarter of his life? Why all his near and dear ones pale in to insignificance and he sees only his mission like Arjuna only seeing the eye of the bird? All these questions can be answered in two words; His Pride.

It is his professional pride that make him a hero. He wants to be a hero before his comrades; before his superiors, in his unit and in his country. He is a hero of his village and hero in front of his parents. He is a hero to his wife and a super hero to his children. He also knows he is the last bastion of the nation and he is the last trump card in the hands of his nation. He knows that if he fails the nation fails. It is this emotion that drives him towards mission accomplishment. It is all the way Pride! Pride! And Pride. It is nothing else but ‘Pride’.Sad to say; it is exactly that the Governments of his own country wants to deprive him of? He has been badgered, humiliated, impoverished and made a laughing stock in all the successive pay commissions. His status has been lowered time and again by an insensitive government. How can noble thoughts like sacrifice, mission, cause, patriotism and pride be ever understood by self-serving, sly and scheming bureaucracy? A soldiers pride has taken a beating and believe me sir! It would be a long and painful time to build it again?

Mr Prime Minister! Before you forget history; In Jun 1932 President Herbert Hoover, the 31st President of US ordered firing on the veterans of First World War for demanding the promised bonus. Two veterans were killed and several injured. Herbart Hoover lost the election with a devastating defeat and has gone down in history as a lack lustre President. The Great Depression may have contributed to his rout but the firing on veterans brought him great disrepute. Mr Prime Minister! You are certainly made of a better stuff than Herbert Hoover? 

Enough has been said of ‘OROP’ and nothing more needs to be said about it. Supreme court has granted it and parliamentary committee has approved it. Not a single political party has opposed it but it is still undone? For the past 70 days agitation is on and brute force of police has been unleashed on them. Dear Prime Minister! I hope you have seen the sad picture of a proud veteran trying to fight his tears and another veteran whose shirt with medals torn asunder withstands the criminal use of force against him with quiet dignity and equanimity. It is still not too late to make amends.

Reminds me the words of Edmond Burke “ Invention is exhausted, Reason is fatigued, Experience has given its judgement but Obstinacy remains unconquered”. Mr Prime Minister ! I believe you have still the ability to overrule small minions around you, who do not have the nation in their heart and are bent upon the murdering the ‘ Pride in a Soldier’. Remember ‘Soldiers’ Pride is Nation’s Security’. You kill his pride; you endanger the nation’s security...

Is No One Responsible For The Lathi-Charge On Our Veterans?

Is No One Responsible For The Lathi-Charge On Our Veterans?

Jay Bhattacharjee

Jay Bhattacharjee is a policy and corporate affairs analyst based in Delhi. 

27 Sep, 2015

An enquiry conducted by the PMO, on the basis of a Swarajya article by this author, seems to imply that.

In the early morning of the 17th August, an innocuous–sounding text message almost escaped this writer’s attention. It was the Monday after an important weekend. The previous Friday, the 14th, had witnessed a new low in Indian public life; Delhi Police had unleashed their lathis on the armed forces veterans who had assembled in a legal and peaceful rally at the capital’s Jantar Mantar to press for their demand for OROP. Even by the deplorable standards of the desi police, this was a shocking event.

The nation was outraged to see images of the war medals of octogenarian veterans being torn off by members of Delhi’s mutation of the Keystone cops. Along with millions of my fellow citizens, I, too, was outraged, and decided to write an essay on the 15th August on this grotesque indignity heaped on soldiers and warriors who had defended our nation so heroically and bravely in all the wars that India had been compelled to wage after Independence. My article on the incident and its background (why, in the first place, the veterans had been compelled to demonstrate) was published on Independence Day itself.

The Prime Minister’s customary address to the nation on this sacrosanct occasion, made a cursory reference to the OROP issue and included a rather half-hearted undertaking that the matter would be resolved soon. Needless to say, India’s retired warriors (and, I dare say, the serving defenders too), along with the vast majority of my fellow citizens and yours truly, were distinctly underwhelmed by this stand of the PM. Therefore, the 17th August, was truly a copybook example of Monday morning blues.

When I got around to reading the SMS, I was initially confused. The message read : “Your Grievance has been registered vide Registration number PMOPG/E/2015/0065783. Please logon (sic) to: http;//pgportal. gov.in for any further details”.

Having written reasonably frequently to various errant government and municipal agencies in the capital and elsewhere on their numerous lapses in governance, I was wondering what this was all about. When I opened the URL, it transpired that I had been granted entry to the Valhalla where ordinary Indians are very rarely entertained, a sanctum sanctorum that most of us can only dream about – the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO)  in South Block on Raisina Hill. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief – the nearest I had ventured anywhere near this place in recent times was through a number of open letters (read “articles”) I had penned in various publications, either electronic or print, addressed to the Prime Minister.

Now, as every commentator / essayist in these shores will tell you, these so-called “open letters” to the powers-that-be have as little impact as water off a duck’s back.  The Indian establishment has a skin so strong that it puts titanium to shame.  And as every chaiwallah in Delhi and the nation knows, the top guns in the establishment are the IAS lot, with a few IFS chaps occasionally thrown in, to mumble in Mandarin, French or German, in the exalted corridors of the PMO.

Going through the page that opened on my screen, I learnt that a “Public Grievance” had been registered in my name by the nation’s top honchos about the police lathi charge on the veterans on the 14th. The “grievance” was based on the Swarajya essay of mine published on the 15th. In fact, the entire essay was reproduced in the PMO’s portal. .  

Status as on 17 Aug 2015
Registration Number	:	PMOPG/E/2015/0065783
Name Of Complainant	:	Jay Bhatacharjee
Date of Receipt	:	17 Aug 2015
Received by	:	Prime Ministers Office
Officer name	:	Shri Ambuj Sharma
Officer Designation	:	Under Secretary (Public)
Contact Address	:	Public Wing
		5th Floor, Rail Bhawan
		New Delhi110011
Contact Number	:	011-23386447
e-mail	:	ambuj.sharma38@nic.in
Grievance Description	:	Lathi Charge on Veterans on Aug 14th 2015 Cry My Beloved Country –  Military Veterans Assaulted By Police

 While all this was quite flattering, the mystery remained. I had not approached the super-babus in the PMO with any complaint or grievance or whatever they choose to label it. Having spoken to a number of friends, the general consensus was that one of the readers of my essay that was then being circulated quite extensively (as happens in the age of the internet) had sent it to the PMO, who registered it suo motu, and informed me so that my readers, friends and I would be temporarily placated.    

This was also the overall consensus in my circle – the establishment was trying to buy time and attempting to put on a show so that the hoi polloi would calm down. Nevertheless, my instinct was to give the whole exercise a bit of momentum, in the faint hope that some attempt would be made by the GOI to get to the bottom of the shameful incident of the 14th. Therefore, I decided to take up the cudgel, as it were, that had been left on the battlefield by an unknown fellow-citizen.  

Even in my worst-scenario exercise, I could not anticipate how wretchedly these babus would behave. The designated officer, whose details were  mentioned in the portal as Under Secretary (Public), would never come on the line. Each time, a flunkey, who grandly announced himself as “staff” and refused to divulge his identity, would curtly tell me that the U.Secy. had no time to speak to complainants and / or members of the public. On numerous occasions, this wing of the GOI, ostensibly set up to attend to citizens’ grievances, took a vicarious thrill in fobbing me off with excuses that ranged from the bizarre to the obscene. The only relevant information that the portal disgorged from time to time was that the matter had been referred to the Commissioner of Police of Delhi for his feedback. Since the Police top chap was the one whose force had committed the offence, I thought it was a bit rich to ask him to look into the matter. 

Now, all this is hardly news to the hapless citizens of this country, who have been used to this type of governance for the last 7 decades or so in independent India and for seven to eight centuries before that under various versions of the Sultanate and the Raj. However, there is a new factor being played out here.

In power now, is the NaMo regime, that had been voted in last year with a massive majority, and whose professed aim was that it would usher in a new paradigm of governance and public administration. With just about 19 months in the driving seat, the objectives and stated agenda of the new occupants of Raisina Hill are being  blatantly sabotaged, obstructed and derailed by the babus. Unless, of course, and banish the thought, the events of 2014 (the glorious dawn etc.) were all shadow-boxing. More on this later.

Since the Under Secy (Public) was flagrantly AWOL or absconding or whatever they do in desi babudom, I decided to contact, whatever it needed, the critical decision-maker in this maze, the fabled JS (Joint Secretary in the capital’s parlance). After 10 days of using the old-boy network et al, I finally succeeded in making the nabob come on the telephone line. Icily courteous, he explained that the poor U.Secy. was buried under a mountain of complaints and couldn’t really speak to every complainant who dared to ring the telephone number listed in the portal. The fellow’s tone clearly indicated that I was a mental retard, if I thought I could exercise my democratic and constitutional rights in ye Olde Ind to speak to public functionaries. The chap put down the phone after mumbling that I would be told the outcome of the “case” within ten days or so.

Like a besotted teenager waiting for my girlfriend to contact me, I spent my waking hours in the last fortnight for the phone call, E-Mail or SMS from the burra sahibs, or at least the junior burra sahib, the U.Secy.  There was nothing incoming –  a scenario that was very much like the PM’s undertakings on OROP, parroted faithfully by the Raksha Mantri. Not even a homily  resembling the periodic sermons from the FM admonishing the veterans for being naïve enough to claim their legitimate dues. A big blank screen on my computer and my cell phone, if you please. 

Then I ventured to visit the PMO portal on the 22nd. Hallelujah, the nation’s presiding deity had acted. The words glaring at me on the screen read :

Current Status	:	CASE CLOSED
Date of Action	:	11 Sep 2015
Details	:	During enquiry, it is revealed that the anti-encroachment drive to evict unauthorized protesters, illegal tents/structures was conducted in a very peaceful manner by the NDMC officials while as a law enforcement agency Delhi Police was presented there to protect the NDMC officials during their drive. Therefore no further action is required in this complaint.

Now, this is the icing on the cake by the babus – a five-line statement in pidgin language (“Delhi Police was presented there”) that attempts to sweep under the carpet one of the most shameful incidents in the history of independent India. A statement that is a blatant lie (when it refers to “unauthorized” protesters, whereas they had all the necessary permissions) is passed off as the official response of the GOI.  

The action-taken-report (ATR in Indian babu language) does not even bother to clarify the basic details : (a) who conducted the enquiry (b) what were the terms of reference of the enquiry (c) what credible evidence was provided to the persons conducting the enquiry and (d) who were the persons called to testify in the enquiry?  The PMO manifestly feels that these fundamental queries pertaining to the so-called enquiry are never going to be asked, and if asked, they will never be required to be disclosed.

If the PM, the RM and the FM, think that this is where the matter ends they are sadly mistaken. This is something that will come back as a phoenix to haunt them in the future. The babus, of course, are having the last laugh. Not only have they and the khakiwallahs got away with battery and assault, they have also effectively derailed the entire OROP movement.What can one say? The inimitable Ogden Nash said it in much better words than I can muster.

I’m an autocratic figure in these democratic states.

A dandy demonstration of hereditary traits.

My position at the apex of society I owe,

To the qualities my parents, bequeathed me long ago.
I remember daddy’s warning that raping is a crime.

Unless you rape the voters a million at a time.

Kargil War: The neglected heroes

http://www.tribunei ndia.com/ 2010/20100725/ edit.htm# 1

Administrative egotism and mischief must cease

Administrative egotism and mischief must cease

Navdeep Singh

The National Litigation Policy recently unveiled by the Law Minister would have special significance for the defence services in general and disabled veterans in particular. The policy ordains that frivolous appeals would not be filed by government departments and that appeals from orders of Tribunals shall be an exception rather than the rule. The policy also directs that false and misleading pleas or technical points shall not be espoused before judicial fora.

Since the last few years, veterans have been at the receiving end of paper violence perpetrated by legal pundits of the government, who, guided by a strange spirit of sadism, exhaust every single game in the book to ensure that disability benefits do not reach the beneficiaries even when directed by higher judiciary. To begin with, medical authorities indulge in ‘literal’ interpretation of rules rather than ‘liberal’ thereby denying disability benefits to disabled soldiers. They forget the ‘spirit’ while clinging to the ‘letter’. When there is a judicial pronouncement granting disability pension, appeals and reviews are filed as a matter of routine even in cases fully covered by earlier decisions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court and High Courts. It is not the higher echelons of governance or the services headquarters which are to blame but the swarm of section officers, under secretaries and deputy secretaries who rule the roost. Yes, the lower level bureaucracy with its caustic file-notings unfortunately runs the government. The idea is simple, even if there is a verdict in favour of a disabled veteran, file an appeal, take a chance, and maybe the verdict would be overruled because it is well known that our jawans cannot afford proper legal aid up till the Hon’ble Apex Court.

That the new policy has specially mentioned ‘false’ and ‘misleading’ pleas goes to show that the Minister is aware of the malaise that has set in. Appeals are filed not out of legal necessity but because of administrative egotism – ‘How could a petty employee win a case against the mighty officialdom ?’. Then comes the ‘hook’ or ‘crook’ stage wherein dubious pleas are presented before Hon’ble Courts with departments even misguiding their own counsel into presenting incorrect pleadings, which if not rebutted by a well acquainted legal brain, end in pronouncements which can hardly be termed well-rounded. The presence of these two words - ‘false’ and ‘misleading’ in the policy reminds me of some specific cases with special reference to disabled soldiers. In Secretary MoD Vs Ajit Singh case (2009), the statement of the defence ministry is on record wherein it has been stated that disability pension was not released to the veteran since he did not have the minimum required service of 10 years to his credit. Needless to say, in reality, there is no minimum service requirement for disability pension and even a recruit is entitled to the same. In the recent case of Karan Singh Vs UOI (2010) before the Jaipur AFT, it was espoused by the central government that it is the Army alone that provides disability pension to its employees. However truth is that civilian employees are also entitled to exactly the same benefits since 1939. In PK Kapur Vs UoI (2007) the government went hammer and tongs proclaiming how it had the right to fix a cut-off date for grant of certain enhanced disability benefits which had been refused to pre-1996 defence retirees. The case went in favour of the government since the Court was never informed that the said benefits through the same master notification had already been extended to similarly placed pre-1996 civilian retirees as back as in 2001. The Petitioner could not rebut the falsehood since he could not afford a lawyer.

It is not that mischievous elements are playing around only with the pious institution of judiciary, the higher strata of governance is also not left untouched. In an official speech last month obviously prepared by a similarly inclined officer, the Defence Minster was made to ‘announce’ with pride that the government had introduced an additional amount of Rs 3000 as constant attendance allowance for disabled soldiers keeping in view the ‘valour and sacrifices of army personnel’. So far so good, but the humble Minister was not in the knowledge that firstly, constant attendance allowance is applicable to civilian employees too and hence has nothing to do with ‘valour and sacrifices’, secondly it is a concept in force since times immemorial and is nothing new and even its enhancement is old news which was announced in March 2008 by the sixth pay commission, thirdly it is not applicable to all disabled personnel but only to 100% disabled retirees. In the past two years there have been other instances where the political executive and the top brass have been misled into announcing beneficial ‘policy decisions’ by hiding from them the fact that the same had actually been necessitated due to Supreme Court verdicts.

When the top block itself is victim of tomfoolery emanating from the bottom, what can the poor soldier expect ?

http://www.indianmilitary.info/2010/07/oped-in-tribune-administrative-egotism.html

Unfair to military personnel: They Must Get their Due

Unfair to military personnel: They must get their due

by Lt-Gen Vijay Oberoi (retd)

The Tribune, 5 Jul 10 GOVERNMENTS, they say, are impersonal and yet a democracy is a government of the people, by the people and for the people. We take pride in saying that we are the world’s largest democracy. Yet, the people’s voice is largely not heard because the political leadership and the bureaucrats who advise them are so bound by rules and regulations (of their own making unfortunately) that unless they are nudged, nay shoved violently, it is difficult to change their somnambulant state. Unfortunately, the military fraternity of both serving and retired categories seems to be experiencing the brunt of it, especially since early 2008, when the continuing and tragic saga of the Sixth Pay Commission commenced. While the commission has been hogging the headlines, there are many other important issues that also need to be highlighted so that the people, who after all are supposedly the real rulers of the country, are aware of them. This piece is about a few inter-linked yet vastly different issues that are making military personnel very angry and justifiably so. The first is the case of the “rank pay”, where despite an elaborate and clear ruling by the Supreme Court, the authorities, ill advised by the bureaucracy, have filed another appeal! This is a farce of monumental proportions being played against a large number of affected military officers. As a case of bureaucratic pusillanimity and procrastination, this does take the cake. Let me briefly narrate the essentials. In 1986, the recommendations of the Fourth Pay Commission included the grant of “rank pay” to all defence officers of the rank up to brigadier and equivalent. However, while implementing the same, equivalent amounts were reduced from the pay, by an omission or by design (both perceptions exist)! No military person noticed this at that time. This may be hard to believe but the prevailing culture at that time was that most military personnel were fairly blasé about their pay and allowances. It was in fact considered infra dig to get in to mundane issues like entitlements, as it was a firm belief that the authorities will always look after one’s interests. It is now clear that we were really naive. The authorities in the corridors of South and North Blocks, however, had little time for such niceties! Having learnt bitter lessons after the Sixth Pay Commission, the military has now become wiser, but at the huge cost of losing confidence, trust and fair play in the government (read bureaucracy). Reverting to the “rank pay” case, the issue came to light only when retired Major Dhannapalan discovered it, approached the Kerala High Court for redress and fought it with the unrelenting Ministry of Defence (MoD) in both the High Court and the Supreme Court, till he won the case in 2005, after nine years. However, while implementing the judgment, the MoD gave benefits only to the officer. The representations of a large number of similarly affected officers were ignored. This resulted in a flood of writ petitions, as the affected officers had no other option but to seek justice from the courts. Finally, despite the vehement opposition by the MoD, the Supreme Court ruled on March 8, 2010, that the benefit of the judgment must be extended to all eligible military officers and also awarded 6 per cent interest on the amount due to the officers. While the affected officers were still doing their calculations, the empire struck back with an appeal against the ruling. Why is the MoD deliberately trying to deny justice to a large number of military officers? Is it a delaying tactic designed to cheat the military personnel and stall the implementation of the judgment, or a case of losing face or the fear of being penalised for a deliberate act of commission, or a combination of all three? Whatever be the motivation, the military personnel are livid on being denied their legitimate emoluments. This also begs the larger question of the government being the single biggest litigant, keeping the courts busy and in the process preventing them from dispensing justice to more needy persons. I fail to understand the logic of the government contesting every order the Supreme Court has passed in favour of defence forces. It did so for umpteen years in the case of fixation of pension of Major-Generals. In the case of a disabled officer, Capt CS Sidhu, the Supreme Court was constrained to remark that the government treated its soldiers worse than beggars! Dr V. Moily, Minister of Law and Justice, has recently announced the National Litigation Policy, which aims to reduce average pendency time from 15 years to three years. The policy emphasises that the government must cease to be a compulsive litigant. The Law Minister may keep making announcements and publishing policies, but will the stalwarts in the MoD as well as other ministries listen? In the meantime, the large numbers of affected military personnel continue to be deprived of their legitimate emoluments. Let me now highlight the second and a more recent issue, relating to jobs for military personnel after their retirement. In 2004, the Directorate-General of Resettlement, as part of its drive for securing jobs for retired officers and soldiers, had persuaded the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to accept retired military personnel for running toll plazas on highways. Being disciplined and honest, they are doing a superb job and have already increased collections at the ex-servicemen-run toll plazas from the earlier 15 to 80 per cent. There are over 25,000 military veterans running NHAI-owned toll plazas, while another 10,000 provide logistical support. Now, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has decided to auction all the toll plazas to the highest bidder. The motive is undoubtedly monetary, while efficient running or jobs for the needy veterans do not seem to have any place in the thinking of the government! As a sop, the NHAI has stated that the toll plazas in Jammu and Kashmir, northeastern states or other disturbed areas would continue to be kept for the military veterans sponsored by the Director-General of Resettlement. How nice, but no toll plaza exists in these areas! While the government is keen to employ military veterans to do all the difficult fighting against the Maoists, including the highly dangerous clearance of mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), when it comes to giving them their dues in terms of their legitimate emoluments or jobs as part of their rehabilitation, it baulks at and panders to power and money brokers. Is this our version of democracy?

Justice And The Armed Forces: A Mirage

Lt Gen SK Bahri PVSM (Retd) A3/502 World Spa East

Sector 30/41

Gurgaon 122001

Tele 0124 4143180/181

14 Jun 2010

Justice And The Armed Forces: A Mirage

I am writing to you about a subject which is becoming a rather touchy one both with the Government and the defence services, including the ex servicemen. The UPA II has just finished patting itself on its back for what it has done during the past 12 months. But one area where it has faltered is the redressal of grievances of serving and retired soldiers of the three defence services.

The Services have been depended upon by the Nation for guarding it against both, external aggression and internal disorder. They have acquitted themselves well each time and have earned the respect of the nation. It is one organisation, which is looked upon in horror by the Nation if a misdemeanour by one of its members, is detected. Such aberrations not only make headlines but even the Services handle them like cancer, which need to be excised promptly.

Can any other government wing be compared with the defence services? The morning newspaper seems incomplete if there is no news about a few lapses in one of the government’s arms eg., corruption, custodial killing, crores of intelligence funds meant for fighting Maoists being siphoned off by DGPs , selling land at throwaway prices to cronies, excise duty being evaded, continued rape of a subordinate’s wife, children being molested by people who are supposed to protect them and civil servants amassing wealth beyond their known sources of income. I could not believe when the press informed us that in Burail Jail in Punjab , there is a barrack only for convicted policemen!! (The only jail where a special barrack may be reserved for Indian soldiers must be in Pakistan !!) The world organisations have recently graded our civil services as the most inefficient. But we cannot do anything about it.

The above is known to the Aam Admi, whose patience is running out. We should be prepared for the worst, as he knows what he deserves. We have created a Frankenstein in the form of the Maoist menace due to totally inadequate governance and, another monster is in the making. I guess the armed forces will be drafted once again, as they are being planned to deal with Frankenstein.

But what is the morale and thinking of the soldiers? The PM will get reassuring reports from the Service Chiefs, as they cannot say otherwise. But believe me, Mrs Gandhi, there is a feeling amongst the soldiers that while they are protecting a beautiful nation, it is being eaten away internally by termites. Will they be asked to jeopardise their lives once again to remedy a self-created problem? They feel used and are resentful. The reasons are not too far to see, if one has the intention to see.

After the 8 Mar 2010 judgement of the Supreme Court in favour of Defence Officers (who had been denied the benefit of Rank Pay in the 6^th Pay Commission while fixing their emoluments), to set right a patently obvious fraud perpetrated on them by the bureaucracy, the government has filed an appeal against the implementation of the judgement. I then sent the attached email on 16 May 2010 to the Law Minister, Mr Veerappa Moily telling him that the action of the Government is against his own statement that the government should not be a persistent litigant. I, as is customary in todays government offices, have not received an acknowledgement so far. So it is possibly lying in the wastepaper basket next to his table or censored by his OSD, the bureaucratic representative who acts as the self appointed filter of “bad news” from the “master”!

The soldiers, serving and retired, are a disillusioned lot. After your assurance in Amritsar , inclusion in the Congress manifesto, declaration by the President in her opening speech to Parliament, statement of the Finance Minister in the Budget speech and the proclamation by the PM from the ramparts of Red Fort,One Rank One Pension (OROP) remains a mirage. Rubbing salt in the wounds, directions of the highest court in the land are being contested, only because they are in favour of soldiers. (The bureaucracy had also appealed repeatedly against the judgement of the Supreme Court in favour of Maj Gens in 2008). Imagine a Committee of Secretaries met to consider the Judgement and within a week (a record of sorts!) decided to appeal against it, as it was financially unviable. Can a fraud detected by the Supreme Court be wished away due to its financial cost? Do you think the soldiers will swallow all this, and accept it happily? If your advisors say so then they are the same who have landed our Country in this sorry state of affairs, be it in the North East or in the 400 odd districts, with many more on the verge of joining them, affected by Maoism. They are the ones who are putting the fear in the politicians that the Defence Forces will take over the country if they are not kept under their thumb. A disastrous presumption.

For the country’s sake, please do not push the soldiers over the precipice and make them behave like our huge police force, which wants a bribe for registering a FIR or a bureaucrat who does the same for putting his signatures on a piece of paper. Mrs Gandhi please look after the soldier, he is ironically defenceless in his own country.

Mrs Sonia Gandhi

Chairperson UPA

10 Janpath

New Delhi 110001

Copy to

Dr Manmohan Singh

Honourable Prime Minister

7 Race Course Road

New Delhi 110011

Mr AK Antony

Honourable Minister of Defence

9 Krishna Menon Marg

New Delhi 11011

Mr Veerappa Moily

Honourable Minister of Law and Justice

Ministry of Law & Justice

4^th Floor, A Wing

Shastri Bhawan

New Delhi 110001

Not On Original

Admiral NK Verma PVSM, AVSM, ADC

Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee

Chief of the Naval Staff

Naval HQ, South Block

DHQ PO

New Delhi 110011

General VK Singh PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC

Chief of the Army Staff

Army HQ, South Block

DHQ PO

New Delhi 110011

Air Chief Marshal PV Naik PVSM, VSM, ADC

Chief of the Air Staff

Air HQ

Vayu Bhavan

New Delhi 110011