New Delhi, March 14 (IANS) Around 1,000 retired defence personnel Sunday gathered for a protest here and demanded 'equal pension for each rank'.

Ex-servicemen from the three defence forces held the protest at Jantar Mantar and collected their gallantry medals. They plan to hand over the medals to President Pratibha Patil who is the supreme commander of the armed forces.

The soldiers will also submit a memorandum written with their blood to Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

'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.

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 who did not wish to be identified.