One rank, one pension: Rahul Gandhi assures ex-servicemen

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi Friday assured ex-servicemen that he would make efforts for their long-pending "one rank, one pension" (OROP) demand to be meet soon.

"I am on your side. I understand your concerns. You give your life for the country, I will do all that I can to see your demands are met," he told a delegation of ex-servicemen which met him.

Gandhi's meeting with ex-servicemen, who command a sizeable vote share across several parliamentary seats, comes weeks before the expected announcement of the Lok Sabha election schedule.

A Congress release said a delegation of ex-servicemen from Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab had called on Gandhi regarding the OROP policy.

"They highlighted the unjustness of higher pension for juniors who retire later at the same rank and urged Rahul Gandhi to ensure this anomaly is corrected," the release said.

It said "one rank, one pension" has been a long-standing demand of over two million ex-servicemen of the country and affects ex-servicemen, their families and war widows.