In his letter to the President, he has said that in the situation where Army veterans 'languish on roads' seeking OROP, he found it inappropriate to join the event.
AAP MLA Colonel (retd) Devinder Sehrawat declined the invite to the 'At Home' reception from President Pranab Mukherjee in protest demanding the One Rank One Pension scheme. In his letter to the President, he has said that in the situation where Army veterans 'languish on roads' seeking OROP, he found it inappropriate to join the event. Sehrawat is an ex-armyman.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday did not commit a specific timeline for implementation of 'One Rank One Pension' but stressed that talks were in the final stages, drawing sharp reactions from ex-servicemen who vowed to step up their protest.
Addressing the nation on the 69 Independence Day, Modi limited himself to giving assurance that the government has "in-principle" accepted the demand for OROP and it is working out the modalities. Not far from Red Fort, where he addressed the nation, ex-servicemen sitting on 62nd day of relay hunger strike at Jantar Mantar, watched Modi's speech keenly on a large LCD screen but switched it off the moment his brief OROP mention ended. Terming the soldiers as a strength, treasure and energy of the country, Modi accepted that despite his coming to power, the solution for the long-delayed OROP issue has not been found yet.
"Thanked but Unable to attend the At-Home Reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan,While Ex Servicemen are on the roads for OROP," Sehrawat said on Twitter. Sehrawat added in the letter that the Delhi police and the municipality were meting out shabby treatment to the retired armymen. He said that the veterans expected the President's intervention in the matter and hoped that he conveyed to PM Modi about their concerns.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu too conspicuous by their absence at the 'At Home' function hosted by the common Governor of both states, ESL Narasimhan, on the occasion of Independence Day. Several dignitaries, including Union Ministers Bandaru Dattatreya, YS Chowdary and Telangana deputy chief minister Mahmood Ali, attended the customary event held at the Raj Bhavan here.
In a brief informal chat with mediapersons before the event concluded, Narasimhan said he did not know the reasons for the absence of the two CMs and that nothing special should be read into it.
The 'At Home' hosted by the Governor last year had helped in breaking the ice between the two chief ministers, whose parties (TRS and TDP) are bitter political rivals, and paved the way for a dialogue to bridge the differences between the two states following an acrimonious bifurcation. However, differences between the two states continued this year over the allegations of 'cash-for-vote' and phone-tapping and regarding the sharing and distribution of assets and liabilities between the two states.
Regarding differences between the two states, the governor expressed hope that "things will fall in place."
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