New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday promised to remove anomalies in 'one rank, one pension' (OROP) and formulate a policy of compensation for families of the Services personnel who lost their lives on duty.
The Congress also promised to formulate and implement a policy that will allow armed forces personnel, who retire after a period of completing service or earlier, lateral entry into the civil services based on their qualifications.
The party made these declarations in its manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections, released on Tuesday.
Under the UPA governments, Congress accepted the principle of OROP and took three steps in 2006, 2010 and 2013 towards implementing the same, said the manifesto.
"In February 2014, the UPA government decided to close the gap for all retirees in all ranks. Ex-servicemen feel the BJP government has not implemented OROP to their satisfaction. The Congress promises to remove anomalies in the implementation of the OROP," it said.
The Congress vows to formulate and implement a policy of compensation to the families of "martyrs", which will include full pay and allowances, funding children's education, government job for a member of the martyr's family and suitable monetary compensation.
"We will also allow armed forces personnel who retire before the age of 40 years to enter the paramilitary forces at suitable levels, based on their qualifications and physical fitness," the manifesto said.
The Congress has promised to substantially expand the capacity of the armed forces medical corps and hospitals to cater to the needs of ex-servicemen and their families.
The party also assured revising the procedure to determine the disability of injured armed forces personnel and make the determination final, subject to an appeal only at the instance of the disabled person. "All pending appeals filed by the Ministry of Defence will be withdrawn," it said.
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