Ex-servicemen have been protesting at Jantar Mantar for over a year now, demanding the implementation of OROP
An ex-serviceman protesting against the anomalies in the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme, allegedly committed suicide in New Delhi late Tuesday night. Identified as Ram Kishen Grewal, the former army jawan purportedly left a suicide note saying that he is taking his life due to the delay in meeting the demands of the army veterans. He is reported to have consumed poison in the lawns behind Jawahar Bhawan.
Police told PTI that he, along with some other ex-servicemen, was in the process of submitting a memorandum to the Defense Ministry over the issue of OROP. According to his friends, Grewal had been upset over the issue for sometime. Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar is reported to have asked for details about the incident from the department of ex-servicemen welfare.
Garehwal’s son told news agency ANI that his father had called them and informed about his decision to commit suicide because the ‘government had failed’ to fulfill their demands related to OROP. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is expected to visit the Grewal family in Haryana. He targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the suicide of an ex-serviceman here, saying both farmers and soldiers were ending their lives in his regime.
“Both farmers and soldiers are committing suicide in Modi Raj. That means the Prime Minister is lying that OROP has been implemented. Why would Ram Kishan ji have committed suicide if OROP was being implemented?” Kejriwal said on Twitter