“The UPA government has been paying lip service to the cause of defence personnel. In the 2009-10 budget, a committee was set up and its recommendations were promised to be implemented. But the grievances remained as the approach was half-baked.
“The Finance Minister has again promised that this cause has been completely addressed. There should be no attempt to play with the aspirations of our armed force,” Jaitley said.
Trinamool Congress termed the Finance Minister's announcement a “gimmick on our brave soldiers”, wondering if a small outlay of Rs 500 crore would be enough.
“UPA's made promises for others to keep. ‘One-rank, one-pay' is too late, with too small an outlay (Rs 500 crore). A gimmick on our brave soldiers,” TMC spokesperson Derek O'Brien said.
The government today accepted the long-standing demand of ex-servicemen for ‘one-rank, one-pension' and allocated Rs 500 crore for the fund, a decision that is expected to benefit around 30 lakh retired personnel of the Armed forces.
