Anna Hazare to Go on Indefinite Hunger Strike over Land Bill, OROP

A retired Indian Army soldier and social activist, Anna Hazare, has decided to begin an indefinite hunger strike against Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill, 2015 and delay in implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme.

Hazare will hold the strike at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on October 2, the day India observes Gandhi Jayanti to mark the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Hazare, who had already written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking to implement the scheme, met with Gandhians, in their 70s, on Wednesday. They discussed the strategies to bring forth the matter before the NDA government at Hazare's native village Ralegan Siddhi in Ahmednagar, Gujarat.

"We have to take care of our soldiers and farmers. Making hollow promises for their welfare and implementing them are different things," Hazare wrote to Modi, according to NDTV reports.

Ex-servicement are already sitting on a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi since 15 June demanding implementation of OROP. They are demanding the NDA government to declare a specific date for the implementation, Zee News reports.

The NDA government had earlier said that they have allotted ₹8,300 crore but has not yet mentioned when will the scheme be implemented.

The protestors also want the OROP scheme to remain unchanged. Under the scheme, retired ex-servicemen of equal rank, having equal term of service, are entitled to similar pension irrespective of the date of their retirement.

At present, the soldiers get their pension based on the Pay Commission pay scales, under which they get different pensions based on their date of retirement, although they have served same time period.

Hazare has often gone on hunger strikes over issues concerning the society. In 2011, he sat on a similar strike demanding establishment of the Lokpal under The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act.