We believe in action, not mere tokenism: Sitharaman

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the Narendra Modi government has been able to resolve vexed issues related to the welfare of the armed forces because it believes in real action rather than mere tokenism.

"Issues like one rank one pension (OPOP) or a national war memorial which had been hanging fire for decades were picked up and resolved at the initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi because we believe in real action and not in mere tokenism like previous governments," Sitharaman said addressing ex-servicemen and family members of soldiers who had died fighting for the country.

As announced by Union Minister Piyush Goel in Parliament, while Rs 35,000 crore have already been paid to the beneficiaries under OROP, an annual budgetry provision of Rs 8,000 crore has been made for payments under OROP in the interim budget, she said adding "this is what happens when real action replaces mere tokenism".

"It was a huge task which was accomplished despite all odds in two ..