Rahul Gandhi, who is under fire from the Bharatiya Janata Party for allegedly being at a nightclub in Nepal when the Congress is “exploding”, tweeted on Wednesday that pensions for ex-servicemen should be dispersed at the earliest.
For the unversed, some defence forces veterans have complained that they did not receive their pension for April and that the authorities had no explanation for it. They claimed that their pension was not credited on April 29 or 30 and that they are still waiting for it.
In a tweet, Lieutenant General DS Hooda (Retd) said: “Veterans complaining of pension stopped without explanation. For most, this is the only source of income. Is this how the we say ‘Thank you for your service to the nation’? Request @rajnathsingh to intervene.”
Sharing a report on the same, Rahul Gandhi today tweeted in Hindi: “After the deception of ‘One Rank, One Pension’, now the Modi government is adopting the policy of ‘All Rank, No Pension’.”
“Insulting soldiers is an insult to the country. The government should give the pension of ex-servicemen at the earliest,” he added.
Earlier, Randeep Singh Surjewala, the Congress general secretary, tweeted regarding the matter. “This is not the first assault on interests of Armed Forces, nor is it the last.- Denial of OROP, including opposing it in Supreme Court. Taxing the Disability Pension. Cutting ECHS Budget. Denial of Non Functional Upgrade. Denying Short Service Commission Officers treatment in Military Hospitals,” said Surjewala.
According to news agency IANS, the problem began following the implementation of an online system by the Defence Ministry.
Under the Government of India’s Digital India initiative, the Ministry of Defence implemented SPARSH, an integrated system for sanctioning and disbursing defence pensions for pensioners of the Indian Armed Forces as well as Defence Civilians. From August 2021, the Indian Army was the first to use the platform, followed by other armed forces and organisations.
It is a web-based system that processes pension claims and credits pensions directly into defence pensioners’ bank accounts without involving an external intermediary.
