The help coming from Major General (retd.) Satbir Singh, who at the forefront of IESM agitation on OROP at Delhi's Jantar Mantar has given hope to the Congress to dent at least some chunk of the defence community's votes in Uttarakhand that traditionally is BJP supporter.
Up its sleeve the difficult task to be chosen again, Congress is trying hard to break BJP's sway on large and effective community of nearly 2.5 lakh ex-defence personnel in Uttarakhand using IESM's (Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement ) name on the one rank one pension (OROP) issue.
The help coming from Major General (retd.) Satbir Singh, who at the forefront of IESM agitation on OROP at Delhi's Jantar Mantar has given hope to the Congress to dent at least some chunk of the defence community's votes in Uttarakhand that traditionally is BJP supporter.
According to Sainik Kalyan Evam Punarwas records there are nearly 1.23 lakh registered ex-servicemen and 39,345 widows. Besides, there are 300 veterans and 1,531 veteran widows. And there are about 60,000 armed forces serving personnel.
After Dehradun that has the maximum number of 22,576 retired personnel and 4,000 widows, Lansdowne, the regiment centre of Garhwal Rifles has 14,866 retired and 4,936 widows. The remaining Pauri district has 6,958 ex-servicemen and 2,455 widows. Pithoragarh has 16,517 retired personnel and 7,348 widows.
As per rough estimates there are about 10-12 lakh defence forces voters, including their families.
Perhaps sensing that Army men are a key to win Uttarakhand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made both OROP and surgical strikes a poll issue during his whirlwind election rallies in the state.
Addressing rallies in Srinagar and Pithoragarh, Modi attacked the Congress for questioning surgical strikes and said that it was the BJP that settled the long pending issue of OROP.
"We want to put the record straight that has been wrongly stated by PM Modi. In fact, we feel cheated by the BJP that rode on our shoulders to win 2014 elections by promising OROP. I was the one who went with Narendra Modi and supported Rewari rally when he was PM in making in 2014."
"But what the government gave as OROP is a complete sham. The poor sepoy is getting Rs 3500 less and a widow Rs 2500 less. The Congress has promised to help us get full OROP benefits and that is why we agreed canvass for them," says Singh.
Since he held a conference in Delhi in early January where Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat was also present, Singh has taken part in five to six rallies in Uttarakhand. Singh says he has dispatched two separate teams in Kumaon and Garhwal region to break the myth of BJP's propaganda on OROP and surgical strikes.
His colleague Maj Gen (retd) Lalji D Singh is canvassing in major cantonment centres of Kumaon region that have sizeable population of Army personnel.
"Our chain of faujis is spread till the block level in Uttarakhand and they have been telling the retired and in service faujis and their families the truth of OROP. How can PM take the credit for surgical strikes. Our canvassing has the power to tilt the balance," says Singh.
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