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Union Minister V K Singh’s daughter joins OROP stir

Union Minister VK Singh’s daughter Mrinalini joins the Ex-servicemen agitating for “One Rank One Pension” at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Sunday. (PTI Photo)

Describing the demands of the ex-servicemen as "just", Mrinalini, who is wife of a serving Army officer, joined the protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi this morning.

Mrinalini Singh, daughter of union minister Gen (retd) V K Singh, joined the ex-servicemen’s agitation for implementation of the One Rank, One Pension (OROP) scheme at Jantar Mantar on Sunday.

Organisers of the protest said Mrinalini, whose husband is a serving Army officer, has also written a 10-page letter to the Prime Minister demanding immediate implementation of the OROP scheme.

“V K Singh’s daughter Mrinalini Singh joined us this morning. She was there till about 4 pm. She also addressed the veterans and conveyed that her father too is very upset with the non-implementation of OROP. Being a minister, he is trying to get it finalised through his own channels,” said Col Anil Kaul, spokesperson for the United Front of Ex-Servicemen (UFESM).

A PTI report quoted Mrinalini as saying that the protest is for a “just cause”. “This is a just cause and the matter has been pending for many years. I have come here as the daughter of an ex-serviceman to give support to the veterans who have served the country but are now protesting for their rights for over two months,” she told PTI.

Asked if her father, the Minister of State for External Affairs, had approved of her joining the protest, she said, “I have not sought his permission and neither do I need his permission.” Mrinalini said she had come straight from Hisar in Haryana “because I feel for the cause”. “A few years down the line, I will also become the wife of an ex-serviceman,” she told PTI.

She added that she has faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has promised implementation of OROP. “Our previous governments have been promising to do something. This government looks committed towards fulfilling it. So I hope it fulfils it,” she said. On whether her father should also join the protest, she said, “I am going to meet him. I will definitely ask him to come and join the protest.”

Later, a number of family members of ex-servicemen joined the protesters for a candle march to India Gate.

On Saturday, the mother of Col Pushpender Singh, one of the ex-servicemen sitting on fast unto death, extended support to the veterans.

“His 94-year-old mother comes every day to bless her son and others. She was requested to ask her son to discontinue the fast. She flatly refused. Col Pushpender’s wife is also by his side every day. His daughter has quit a lucrative job and is managing press and social media full time. Today Col Pushpender’s mother contributed Rs 11,000, his maternal uncle, brother and sister Rs 10,000 each. What more can a family do? Hats off to the brave family with a large heart,” said a statement from the veterans.