By IANS,
New Delhi : Around 300 retired servicemen gathered for a protest here Saturday demanding “equal pension for each rank”.
The ex-servicemen from the three defence forces held a protest at the Jantar Mantar and collected their gallantry medals, which they plan to hand over to President Pratibha Patil. The president is the supreme commander of the armed forces.
“We fought for the country without caring for our lives and are now compelled to fight another battle for our rights. We are demanding one rank one pension and as a protest are returning our honour that we won by putting our lives at take,” Commodore (Retd) Lokesh Batra said.
Earlier, on Feb 8 many ex-servicemen had returned their medals to the president as a mark of protest.
The main demand of the protesters is that irrespective of the date on which a soldier retires, he or she should get the same pension.
“We will continue our struggle peacefully and it is a shame for the country that soldiers have to return their gallantry awards and meritorious medals,” said another retired soldier.