"Whatever they have finally offered is not acceptable to us. Yesterday what was told to us is nowhere close to the definition" that had been decided and accepted by Parliament," Maj Gen Satbir Singh (Retd), Chairman of the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement said.
He said that the ex-servicemen have turned down government's offer to increase pension every five years instead of doing it annually.
"They were saying it will be done after five years which is totally incorrect because it will defeat the very definition of OROP," Satbir said.
Government is insisting that 2011 be made the base year while making it clear that there will be no three per cent annual increase. It also wants payment to begin from April 1, 2015, which has been rejected by the veterans.
Also Read
Unhappy with the prolonged delay by the Government in setting a timeframe for OROP, the veterans boycotted today's golden jubilee celebrations of the 1965 war with Pakistan.
"Now the small gaps are being filled. Give it some time for completion. In principle, the Prime Minister on August 15 (Independence Day Speech) has given his approval. Now, PMO is directly involved...Then by saying that do it in these many days will not help. "All efforts are being made to solve the issue," he said.
The protesters said they are "disheartened" by Parrikar's remarks to reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
"What Raksha Mantri said, I'm rather disheartened. He is now saying that there are gaps. He cannot say anything that is totally different than what was told to us all these days," Satbir said.