Dear Members

IESM is emboldened that so many veterans are taking keen interest and giving advise about conduct of Rally on 1 Feb 15 to ensure that it is successful. Please be rest assured that IESM is taking note of all advises and will do what is good for Ex-servicemen in overall context. GB IESM has been chosen by the members to take care of member's interest and please be rest assured that GB members will not leave any stone unturned to ensure that ESM demands are approved by Govt at the earliest. GB IESM is also committed to ensure that Government notification for payment of OROP dues is issued on priority. Having said and confirmed that GB IESM is fully committed to ensure justice for ESM, let me come to the points being discussed on the net.

Why Agitational approach;  Many veterans believed in last 50 years that asking for increase in pay and facilities is below the dignity of Armed Forces. This resulted in down gradation of status of all ranks of Armed Forces viz a  viz civil structure. In pay commission after pay commission status of Armed Forces was systematically brought down viz a viz civil structure. This was first resented by men in uniform and ex-servicemen in 2008. Ex-servicemen got together and decided to form IESM in 2008. IESM then took a considered decision that Government in India does not pay attention to any group unless the group goes on agitations. ESMs will agree that a decision taken by IESM in 2008 has turned out to be well thought of and good approach to present problems of Ex-servicemen to the Govt and to get the OROP approved. IESM was heavily criticized at that time by many senior veterans, IESM did not deter. IESM approach has paid dividend and today our cherished dream of OROP stands approved. It took medal returns, submission of memorandums signed in own blood and many rallies to wake up the conscious of citizen and politicians to get OROP approved. 

Undue delay in issuance of OROP notification;  OROP has been approved by two Parliaments, Commitment of two PM, present PM Mr Modi at Siachin and on a Navy frigate has announced loud and clear that OROP is his personal commitment to Armed Forces, Passing of OROP in two budget. But even after seven months of approval, OROP notification has not been issued. IESM has written numerous letters  to Government but there was no reply from the Govt, not even an acknowledgement. On the contrary some negative statements were deliberately leaked by Govt circles to test the reaction of ESM and ESM organisations. Confronted by wall of silence by the Govt, IESM decided to resume agitation mode and announced relay hunger strike from 3 Dec to 16 Dec, with a rally on 7 Dec and return of another tranche of medals. Immediately on announcement of agitation there were murmurs in the ESM circles and all those ESM who were silent all these months, and did not ask a question on delay in OROP notification, suddenly became active and started advising IESM to cancel/ go slow on agitation approach. IESM agreed to defer the agitation on personal intervention by sh Rajeev Chandrashekhar (sympathizer of ex-servicemen) only after he promised to arrange a meeting with the Honorable RM. Details of IESM delegation meeting have already been sent to environment. Despite the promise of RM there was no news from MOD/DESW about the early issuance of notification, on the contrary some negative statements came out of RM/MOD. IESM thought that these are incorrect reporting by the media/newspaper. IESM asked for clarification but none came. On the contrary unconfirmed messages were received that MOD/CGDA/DESW combine are exaggerating the expenditure of OROP and are making all out attempt to dilute the OROP ( Now they are attempting dilution when they realized the Govt is now committed to give OROP and they can not stop it any further).

Holding of Rally on 1 Feb 15;  On getting the news that there is an attempt to dilute OROP definion and on getting no clarification from MOD, GB IESM decided to hold a rally on 1st Feb 2015 Sunday to remind and request the Government about their commitment to Ex-servicemen and nation. IESM is very clear in its thought process that IESM wishes to remind the Government of its commitment and does not wish to have confrontation with the Govt. IESM is of firm opinion that the Govt will live upto its promise and manifesto. However the question why is the Govt is taking unduly long time to overcome bureaucratic politics is bothering IESM? Hence IESM planned this rally and demonstration. IESM condemns misinformation campaign undertaken about the purpose of rally by few veterans. This misinformation campaign is being initiated by few politically inclined veterans. IESM is not aligned to any Party and is not involved in party politics. Some veterans who fought the last election and miserably lost are the leader in this misinformation campaign.

Reasons and Effects of the Rally; Few veterans have been expressing that this rally may annoy Government and Government may refuse to give OROP. IESM firmly believes that this Government is committed to OROP and will definitely honor its commitment to Armed Forces and ESM. However ESM are exasperated to wait for more than 8 months to get OROP and do not understand the compulsion of Government of this undue delay (In-fact the letter should have been out and payments of OROP should have been in our banks latest by Oct 14, but it did not happen). IESM has done brain storming and have decided to go ahead with the rally on 1 Feb 2015 Sunday at Jantar Mantar new Delhi  because of following reasons.

1. IESM wishes to only remind the Govt of its commitments to Armed Forces and ESM.
2. IESM wishes to request the Govt to overcome the bureaucratic pressure and release full OROP as approved by the Parliament at the earliest. Let this be a Republic day gift to Armed Forces. 
3. IESM confirms that IESM will accept the DGL sent by the Armed Forces Hq to Govt for approval as full and final OROP.
4. IESM is unable to understand any logic of this undue delay in issuance of Govt letter for OROP.
5. IESM is apprehensive that Government may come under bureaucratic pressure and may not issue full OROP
6. IESM will not accept any dilution of the OROP definition.

Preparation  for rally; IESM is thankful to members who have wished good luck and advised to be prepared for rally. Ground work for the rally has been done and IESM expects veterans to attend the rally from 10 states. Telephone of GB members is constantly ringing confirming support for the rally and confirming that ESM will come from all states. A very large number of Ex-servicemen and sympathizer are expected to attend the rally. IESM has also instructed its state conveners to hold meetings and pass a resolution for full OROP. IESM members in state capitals/Dist level have been advised to go to Governer/CM/DC and hand over the memorandum to be sent onwards to President and PM of the India. The memorandum will be signed by lacs of members to convey our exasperation on this undue delay by the Government for issuance of notification for OROP. The meeting to be held in Secunderabad is part of that plan and some of the members of GB are expected to attend the meeting. This should not be seen otherwise on the contrary this meeting is planned accordingly.  

However some well meaning veterans have been asking question what if Govt refuses to issue the full OROP. Dear Veterans IESM is sure that MODI Govt will definitely fulfill its promise given to Armed Forces and ESM. IESM has full faith in promises made by Sh Narendra Modi honorable Prime Minister of India and there will be no need to plan further action. However GB IESM has plans ready in case of any exigency. IESM HAS SELECTED THE AIM AND IS DETERMINED TO ACHIEVE IT. 

IESM REQUESTS ALL ESM TO COME TO JANTAR MANTAR AT 1030H ON 1 FEB 2015 SUNDAY AND BE COUNTED IN THEIR STRUGGLE FOR OROP. YOUR PARTICIPATION IS VERY IMPORTANT TO SEND THE RIGHT MESSAGE TO GOVT THAT ESMs ARE AWAKE NOW AND WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY MORE DOWN-GRADATION IN THEIR STATUS. OROP IS OUR RIGHT AND WE WILL TAKE IT. 

DEAR VETERANS RALLYS ARE VERY EXPENSIVE EVENTS AND LARGE FUNDS ARE REQUIRED TO ARRANGE A RALLY. IESM REQUESTS VETERANS TO CONTRIBUTE FUND TO OFFSET THE EXPENDITURE ON THE RALLY. 

PLEASE CONTRIBUTE FUNDS LARGE HEARTEDLY FOR SUCCESSFUL CONDUCT OF THE RALLY PLANNED FOR 1 FEB 2015 SUNDAY AT 1030H AT JANTAR MANTAR IN NEW DELHI.

ALL VETERANS MUST COME AND PARTICIPATE TO MOUNT UNBEARABLE PRESSURE ON THE GOVT. 

MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION WHAT IF GOVERNMENT ISSUES THE GOVERNMENT LETTER FOR PAYMENT OF OROP DUES TO ESM BY 26 JAN AS REQUESTED BY IESM.

DEAR VETERANS RALLY WILL STILL BE HELD AS PLANNED ON 1 FEB 2015 AND IESM WILL PROFUSELY THANK MODI GOVERNMENT FOR LIVING TO ITS PROMISE AND HONORING THE 30 YR OLD DEMAND OF ESM AND ARMED FORCES. IESM WILL REQUEST GOVT TO HONOR OUR OTHER DEMANDS ALSO.

LAST WORD FOR ESM. COME ONE AND COME ALL AT 1030H ON 1 FEB 2015 SUNDAY AT JANTAR MANTAR FOR ESM RALLY AND BE COUNTED, COME WHAT MAY.  

IESM REQUESTS ALL VETERANS NOT ISSUE ANY MORE STATEMENTS FOR CANCELLATION/DEFERMENT OF RALLY. VETERANS ARE ALSO REQUESTED NOT TO BE MISLEAD BY SUCH CALLS AND COME AND ATTEND THE RALLY IN LARGE NUMBERS.

 Regards

Gp Capt VK Gandhi VSM
Gen Sec IESM

Government will keep its promise of one rank, one pension: Union minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

If social media enhances and expedites reach, it also exposes people twice as fast. I recently came across an online article on 'One Rank, One Pension' (OROP) written by a suave former diplomat-turned-politician, which had little thought and no action behind it. To counter the breakout of Modi sarkar (military lingo for rapid expansion), the self-styled generals of Congress have been scoring countless self goals. As I write, I look up intermittently to skim through the TV news channels, and see the Congress taking the contrarian view on the 'Pakistan boat issue' demonstrating a decade-old mentality -- wait for Delhi to sanction action. Old habits die hard.
That is not how the Indian military and paramilitary have been trained. Being one of the best and most selfless in the world, a warrior's code of conduct is driven by his 'farz' or duty, honour of his 'Paltan', and his nation's 'izzat'. The monthly remuneration can in no way compensate these sacrifices, as a soldier routinely and regularly goes beyond the call of duty for the 'izzat' he holds so dear. And this fact is closest to the heart of the BJP.
BJP has a common thread with the armed forces -- that of the ideology of nation first. Narendra Modi declared his commitment to stand by servicemen, veterans and OROP at a rally in Rewari in 2013. Congress, sensing a potential vote bank did not want to miss the bus so they hurriedly announced OROP and dished out a meagre sum towards it. Therein lies the difference, the uniformed forces are not a vote bank but a value bank for us. Our defence minister went on record, committing to deliver OROP and the finance minister did so in his budget speech. Assurances on the floor of the House are sacrosanct and only in rare circumstances does their completion go a little beyond the financial year. The departments involved in OROP are defence, defence finance, finance and personnel. To get them to speak in one voice and have one view may take time but it will be done. This in itself may lower the satisfaction levels of a few impatient ones and that's when the defence minister spoke of delivering 80% satisfaction he did not say 80% pension. When we have waited for decades, what's a few months more? The armed forces can rest assured that the OROP is perfectly within the credible sights of the PM, FM and 'RM' of this government.
So what's taking time? OROP implies an officer of the same number of years of service and same rank gets the same pension irrespective of the year of retirement. But officers with the same years of service and same rank do not usually get the same salary. This is due to the number of years spent in each rank, or in other words, because of staggered promotion. For example, one colonel could spend more time in the rank of 'colonel' while another colonel may take longer to reach the rank, thus getting less time in the rank of colonel itself. Both may have the same number of total years of military service, but their salary itself will be different.
The one reaching colonel first gets a higher salary. Since pension itself is a derivative of salary, pensions will be different too. There will be thousands of variations in each rank, and we have not even begun counting. This is just one of the many challenges but the government is committed to finding a solution and, without penalising anyone, bringing in a harmonious and simple methodology for calculation of pensions as prescribed in the spirit of OROP. Will my honourable colleagues from the Opposition show some patience and wait for the end of the financial year or will they play spoilsport?
It is in this government that the service chiefs have direct access to the political leadership. In the first 200 days itself, meetings between civil and military leadership far outnumber the total number of meetings held in the last decade of UPA. Protocols are for formal occasions; when the tigers meet, the lambs have no place. Supremacy is of leadership; military and then political, period.
This government has faith in every field commander and soldier to do what's right for the country. Congress weakened the armed forces, reduced fighting capability. Its political indecisiveness and hesitation dulled the sharpness and led to beheadings, embarrassment and lowered morale. In 200 days, critical procurements stuck for the last several years have been cleared. Our responses on the border are with befitting ferocity. War memorial ordered. OROP will be delivered. Modi was also the first PM to celebrate Diwali with soldiers in field.
Congress needs to stop doubting the veracity of the very forces that protect us. They are indeed the wall between heaven and hell. It's thanks to social media that citizens pay rich tributes to our warriors in uniform. And it's from the social media I quote for the benefit of my Congress colleagues: "If you cannot stand behind our troops, feel free to stand in front of them".
Source Click This Link :-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ 

war veterans march on to Delhi for OROP

CHANDIGARH: More than 10,000 restless ex-servicemen from across the country will hold a massive protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on February 1 to pressurize the Centre into keeping its promise on the one rank one pension (OROP) demand.
During the 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign, both the BJP and Congress had pledged to implement the scheme. But the new government has not implemented it even after completing 200 days in office. Several ex-servicemen welfare organizations have come under the banner of Indian Ex-servicemen Movement (IESM) for the protest.
The veterans are also unhappy over defence minister Manohar Parrikar recent statement that he would try to implement 80% of OROP.
"It has to be implemented 100% as promised by the Prime Minister on a number of occasions. Any dilution will not be OROP," said Major General Satbir Singh (retd), chairman of IESM. He also wants a white paper from the Centre on OROP, given that Narender Modi had pledged to implement the scheme in his first election rally at Rewari in September 2013 after he was declared BJP's prime ministerial candidate.
"If it is short of funds, the government should openly say so. We are even ready to accept bonds but give us our 100%," Gen Satbir said.
Brigadier Harwant Singh (retd), president of the all India Defence Brotherhood, said, "As soldiers, we never thought of performing 80% while guarding the nation. We are feeling dejected and restless because of the delay."
Brigadier Kiran Krishan (retd) of IESM said OROP was sanctioned on February 17, 2014. "Ten months have passed since. The BJP government enthusiastically promising to implement it had raised our hopes. But the party seems to be dragging its feet."
In its last budget in February, the UPA government had provisioned for Rs 500 crore for OROP. The BJP government had announced Rs 1,000 crore in its interim budget in July. However, army authorities estimate that Rs 5,000 crore would be required, whereas the accounts department of the defence ministry says Rs 9000 crore would be needed to implement OROP.
Out of 30-lakh ex-servicemen in the country, Punjab alone has around 3 lakh, Haryana has nearly 2.8 lakh, Himachal Pradesh (HP) has around two lakh. Around 10,000 retired ex-servicemen live in Chandigarh.
OROP implies uniform pension to personnel retiring on the same rank with the same length of service irrespective of their date of retirement.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/OROP/ 

WHAT RM REALLY INTENTED

It appears he (RM) has talked about "if not 100% satisfaction then 80% or 90% satisfaction" and NOT 80% of OROP as has been stated by many.

"I think I have just understood exactly what it means about OROP. Now the second round which I have started is to identify exact financial implication.  Kai Bar elections mein assurances diye jaaten hain assurances ka detailing aur analysis nahin hota hai. To main uska analysis kar raha hoon. 

Mai itna aswasta kar sakta hoon mere side se to main full pressure daalne wala hoon or more or less what is acceptable to the armed forces. Why I am saying more or less because nothing is 100% but satisfaction 100% nahin hua to 80% ho sakta hai 90% ho sakta hai. Yahan tak laane ki meri koshish hai ki most of the issues are sorted out, agreed by everyone.

Thode main usme nahin jaaunga jyada details mein Kyonki maine last time economic times mein jo kaha uske upar bhi kai logon ne kuchh comments dal diye without understanding what I was meaning. We cannot express everything in short 20 minutes or 30 minutes interview. What I have in my mind I try to express it maximum but though I am quite articulate I probably was not able to put it in short way.

But I can assure you this much ye issue main jyada din khinch kar nahin jaunga. I will sort it out at the earliest and though I promise for major satisfaction. 100% satisfaction to everyone ye kabhi zindagi mein reality mein aati nahin hai. But jaise mai bola 80 % 90% tak agar satisfaction level le ke jaaun toh that will be good enough solution because from my side I will be always 100% 
but there are questions raised for various issues some minor corrections minor question marks may remain ultimately. But probably 4 to 8 weeks this should be resolved for once.

Coming out with the comprehensive solution so that next budget ke liye iske liye jaana nahin pade. Uske liye solution aa jaye next budget mein keval paise ke liye jaana pade

NEW YEAR BRING PROMISES

Source :-http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com

EX-SERVICEMEN ARE NOW UNITED AND DETERMINED TO GET
ONE RANK ONE PENSION (OROP) AS PER
DEFINITION APPROVED BY THE PARLIAMENT:
 INDIAN EX-SERVICEMEN MOVEMENT (IESM) CALLS FOR A MAHA RALLY ON SUNDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2015 AT 1030H AT JANTAR MANTAR NEW DELHI

Ex-servicemen of India, who had served their motherland for decades and then retired from active service, are a neglected lot today. Their welfare has been neglected for over 60 years and there is no one in Government who seems to care. India is the only country in the world that treats its ex-servicemen as discarded ammunition,GOOD FOR NOTHING! UNFORTUNATE BUT TRUE!

Ex-servicemen want a life of respect and recognition. Ex-servicemen expect the Government and the nation to give them the due respect for having served the country with their blood and life.

Biggest loss to 98% of soldiers is that they are forced to retire at the young age of 38 to 40yrs (just because profile of Armed Forces must be kept young), whereas every other citizen of India has a right to work till 60 years of age and thus enjoys much higher pension. Just to give an example: two young men, with the same educational background, from a village take up a Government job, one joins Indian army as a sepoy and other joins as a police constable or clerk in Government dept. A soldier would be forced to retire (provided he survives at borders and extreme weather) at the age of 38 to 40yrs but his friend in other Government service will retain his job till 60 yrs of age even if he is medically unfit and then retire and earn pension. The major disadvantage which is forced on to soldier is that he experiences all hardships and at times sacrifices his life in call of duty but will still earn about Rs 40 lakhs less than his friend if they both survive till the age of 70 years.

The moot question is: why this indifference to a soldier who is ready to sacrifice his life for safety of country and countrymen? Is it not the responsibility of the citizens of this great country and the Government to take care of welfare of the brave soldier and his family when he is in active service and after his retirement and to look after his family after his sacrifice in line of duty? Alas!! It is not happening in India. The citizen and the Government are indifferent to the brave soldier and this neglect has brought the soldier to such penury that even the Honorable Supreme Court had commented that the Government of India is treating its soldiers/ ex-servicemen like beggars.

Ex-servicemen are disciplined by nature. They do not approve of any disruption to civil society and respect freedom of all citizens. Ex-servicemen approached the Government with their demands and problems peacefully. Government did not pay heed to the woes of Ex-servicemen. Ex-servicemen resented this ill treatment; they decided to agitate peacefully like any citizen of India. Ex-servicemen resorted to return of gallantry medals and submitted memorandums signed in their own blood. This resulted in a big hue and cry and poor state of ex-servicemen was reported in international press. This forced the UPA Government to accept the demand of Ex-servicemen and their most cherished demand of OROP was approved in the budget on 17 Feb 14.

NDA Government followed suit and also approved OROP in the budget presented on 10 June 14. OROP has been thus approved by two parliaments; it has become statute, was a personal commitment of PM Sh Narenedra Modi and was approved by all political parties of India. Ex-servicemen were elated that at last their dream of OROP would become a reality. Alas this was not to be so; their expectations were shattered when issuance of Government notification for OROP got stuck in bureaucratic quagmire. Government has failed to issue notification for the payment of OROP dues even after 10 months of its approval. An indicator of GOOD GOVERNANCE of NDA Government!!

Ex-servicemen got united and decided to resume their agitation from 3 Dec to 16 Dec 14 to remind the Government of their commitment and for early issuance of OROP notification. Thousands of Ex-servicemen and other ESM organizations vowed to join in the agitation. ESM UNITY WAS FORGED FOR OROP.

Sh Rajeev Chandrashekhar, MP Rajya Sabha, then approached IESM and advised them to cancel the agitation and suggested that the Government be given more time to issue notification. IESM was not willing to cancel the plan of agitation. Sh Rajeev Chandrashekhar then offered to arrange a meeting with Raksha Mantri to discuss the issue and understand RM’s thought process on OROP. IESM met hon’ble Raksha Mantri on 9 Dec 14. Raksha Mantri personally assured the delegation that he had understood the nuances and finer points of OROP. RM cleared his thought process on yearly increments in defence pension as defined in OROP. RM also brought out wide difference in the expenditure on account of OROP. IESM delegation made it clear to him that finance experts of MOD must have worked out the expenditure for OROP at the time of budget allocation. Expenditure on OROP should be same as estimated for the budget presented in the Parliament by Finance Minister. Bureaucrats are now inflating the figure only to confuse the issue and deny OROP to Armed Forces. RM assured the delegation that his mind is clear on OROP and implementation order for OROP would be out soon. IESM delegation expressed their fear to RM that bureaucrats would certainly attempt to insert commas and full stops to distort or dilute the definition of OROP. RM personally assured that he would not permit any dilution in the definition. IESM delegation came back reassured that the issue of OROP was in right hands and for the first time, in sixty years, Ex-servicemen felt that they would not be denied justice.

Their joy was short-lived, as RM in his interview with Head Lines Today on 16 Dec 14 shattered their hopes when he stated that it would not be possible to meet 100% satisfaction for OROP. He further stated that Government is likely to give 80% to 90% OROP to Ex-servicemen. This statement was a big reversal on his promise on OROP. Ex-servicemen are aghast on this statement and have decided to resume the agitation for pressing their demand for 100% OROP. Ex-servicemen ask only one question from citizen of India; would they approve if Armed Forces fight the enemy or terrorists with 80% efficiency? Armed Forces lost 527 martyrs and 1363 soldiers were seriously injured/maimed during Kargil war because they gave more than 100% under extremely hostile conditions and won the war in 1999 for motherland. Armed Forces lost many more comrades in terrorist actions because they always give more than 100%.  If India does not accept less than 100% efficiency from Armed Forces then why grant only 80% of OROP, this is beyond our comprehension. IESM requests Honorable RM not to fall in the trap of bureaucrats and grant 100% OROP at the earliest.

IESM has full faith in leadership of Hon’ble RM and expect that he would soon find a suitable solution to overrule the machinations of bureaucrats against OROP and Armed Forces of India. IESM expects Hon’ble RM to fulfill his commitments made to IESM and other ESM organizations.

IESM has received calls from thousands of veterans and many ESM organizations that they are willing to support the agitation planned by IESM to press for 100% satisfaction on OROP.

IESM is steadfast that OROP has only one definition. This definition has been approved by the Parliament and any deviation/ dilution would NOT be accepted in the definition of OROP.

IESM requests all Ex-servicemen and ESM organizations to join in a MAHA RALLY ON 1 FEB 15 SUNDAY AT JANTAR MANTAR NEW DELHI TO PRESS FOR FULL OROP AS PER APPROVED DEFINITION.

DEAR EX-SERVICEMEN, NOW IS THE TIME TO UNITE AND GET YOUR DEMANDS APPROVED. JOIN IESM MAHA RALLY ON 1 FEB 15 SUNDAY AT 1030 H AT JANTAR MANTAR IN NEW DELHI IN LARGE NUMBERS TO ENSURE THAT GOVERNMENT TAKES YOUR DEMANDS SERIOUSLY AND APPROVES THEM.

Gp Capt VK Gandhi VSM                                                        

Gen Sec IESM                                                                            

26 Dec 14

One-rank one-pension' scheme before next budget: Parrikar

Last Updated:Friday, December 26, 2014 - 16:54
Panaji: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday said that 'one-rank one-pension' policy would be implemented in the defence forces before the next budget.
"One-man one-pension policy will be implemented. We are right now working on its detailing," Parrikar said.
The implementation has lot of financial implications which are being worked out, he said.
"It has lot of financial implications. Details would be available only once we work it out," Parrikar said.
'One-rank, one-pension' policy means soldiers of the same rank and same length of service get the same pension irrespective of their retirement date.
 Parrikar said the announcement to implement the policy was made in the last budget.
"Now we will have to implement it. I have kept a target that it will be implemented before the next budget. My effort is to ensure that it should be implemented as soon as possible. My target is that it should not wait for the next budget," he said.
PTI
http://zeenews.india.com/news/india/one-rank-one-pension-scheme-before-next-budget-parrikar_1520757.html