When farmers are deprived of fair MSP and jawans of the OROP, it is not the right time to hike salaries/pension for MPs, said the Congress.
The government on Monday announced that it has credited revised pensionary benefits along with arrears under One Rank-One Pension scheme to more than 2 lakh pensioners drawing service and disability pensions.
It should be noted that the CPC allocation is provisional.
Preparations are in full swing for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura, which will mark beginning of the Bharatiya Janata Party's celebration of its first year in office.
More incentives will be given to agriculture sector for increasing agriculture production.
Modi said his government has taken 'historic' decisions and the nation progressed rapidly in the last one year, even as he acknowledged that there is a lot that needs to be done and many challenges and problems face the country.
He asserted that India has never been an aggressor and the Indian Armed Forces are perceived as defenders of humanity and peace across the world.
The government had committed to increasing spending in infrastructure
This is the fourth successive Diwali that Modi has celebrated with jawans on the border.
Minister of state for defence, Rao Inderjit Singh, on Thursday asked the armed forces to "prioritise" their requirements in the view of the limited budget and also spend the allocated money efficiently.
Top ministers and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders joined a crucial three-day meeting of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and its affiliates that began in New Delhi on Wednesday to brainstorm over key social and economic issues including those confronting the Modi government.
The development came after a nearly two-hour long meeting was held between representatives of ex-servicemen and Army chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag.
Prasad said the Narendra Modi government was working to resolve the OROP issue and will do it.
He accused the Congress of putting up obstacles to the temple's construction through 'its lawyers' in the Supreme Court.
Parrikar's statement did not go down well with the protesters who said they are "disheartened".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday paid a surprise visit to Siachen to celebrate Diwali with soldiers posted at the world's highest battlefield and hailed the role of the armed forces in securing the country.
About 70 ex-servicemen on Tuesday sat on a dharna at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi against the delay in implementation of the 'One Rank, One Pension' scheme even as the relay-hunger strike by retired soldiers on the issue entered its ninth day.
Prime Minister Modi made a strategic blunder of Nehruvian proportions -- presuming no war can happen now, and the Chinese won't be a military threat and risk their economic interests, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Wing Commander Suresh Damodar Karnik (retired), hero of the 1971 war, has politely declined an invitation extended by Shiv Shahir Babasaheb Purandare for a function to be held on May 28 in the presence of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
He also lashed out at the Congress for its opposition to the GST and for dubbing it as 'Gabbar Singh Tax'.
Terming the attempts by war veterans to burn medals as an insult to the nation and armed forces, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday said it was for protesting ex-service personnel to prove there was no political motive behind the OROP stir.
Ex-servicemen on Tuesday started returning their medals to protest the government notification on implementation of 'one rank-one pension', which they have rejected, and hit back at Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar who termed the agitationists as misguided.
The cross-Line of Control surgical strikes, policy towards Pakistan, the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, besides One Rank, One Pension and the plight of farmers were also among issues that were raised at the meeting with parties demanding discussion on them.
Rajiv Chandrashekhar, Rajya Sabha MP, explains that the argument that other government servants are eligible for OROP is incorrect and the comparison is laughable.
President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday hosted a high tea for 1965 war veterans in the Rashtrapati Bhavan complex as the country celebrated the golden jubilee of the war with Pakistan.
In his hard-hitting speech at a gathering of ex-servicemen, the prime minister referred to the Bofors scam, AgustaWestland chopper scam, Rafale issue and inordinate delays in procurement of critical military platforms and ammunition by previous government.
No headway was made on Thursday in resolving sticky issues for OROP implementation during talks between agitating ex-servicemen and government even as two more veterans on indefinite hunger strike were shifted to the army hospital following doctor's advice.
The capital outlay for the three services, for modernisation, stood at Rs 78,586.68 crore
The PM said that it was the BJP government which abrogated provisions of the Article 370, while the Congress was only concerned about its "personal interests".
Surendra Kumar Sahoo recalls the turbulent days when he had put his life on the line fighting the enemy forces.
Enthused by the consensus in reaching four-tiered GST tax structure, particularly the unanimity achieved with Congress-ruled states, senior government sources were confident that the Central GST and Integrated GST Bills will be passed by both the Houses.
The 70-year-old ex-serviceman Ram Kishan Grewal committed suicide by consuming poison at a park in New Delhi area on Tuesday evening.
The hard-fought peace in militancy-hit Jammu and Kashmir has to be maintained, Army chief Dalbir Singh on Thursday said as he accused Pakistan of supporting terrorism in the state. He also said that the army needs to focus on war preparation which is its "primary task".
The federation is now busy sending letters to the prime minister.
Leaders of agitating ex-servicemen over One Rank One Pension met Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Saturday night after which they said the government was likely to come out with a "clarification" on its applicability to those who have opted for premature retirement.
The agency has predicted that monsoon will also be a major factor.
A group of ex-servicemen on Monday announced that they will boycott all official functions, including ongoing 50th anniversary celebrations of the victory in 1965 war, in protest against delay over implementation of "One Rank One Pension" by the government.
Former Defence Minister A K Antony tells Amit Agnihotri that Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar's statement is an insult not only to the Indian Army but also the previous National Democratic Alliance government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said peace in the world is not possible if the factory of terrorism continues like this.
These people don't know that time has changed and they should not treat people as fools, Modi said.
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