AMN
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal were among others who joined mourners at the last rites ex serviceman Ram Kishan Grewal who committed suicide in Delhi yesterday.
The last rites took place at Grewal native place in Bhivani Haryana at noon.
The suicide by Army veteran Ram Kishan Grewal’ over One Rank One Pension (OROP) has snowballed into major political show with Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other opposition leaders attacking the Narendra Modi-led central government over mistreatment with ex servicemen.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday termed as “unacceptable” the detention of her Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal for trying to meet the family of a retired soldier who committed suicide.
The Trinamool Congress supremo had described as “unfortunate” the police decision to stop Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien opines that the detention of Grewal’s family was uncalled for. Sympathising with the army veteran’s family, the TMC MP says the family members are going through ‘double grieving’, one is their detention, the other suicide of Grewal.
Delhi CM Kejriwal announces Rs 1 crore compensation for Grewal’s family.Calling the ex-soldier a martyr, the AAP convenor hit out at Modi government for ‘failing’ to implement OROP.
In a phone conversation with his son, Subedar Grewal on Wednesday said he had consumed poison at a government building in the heart of Delhi. Describing himself as “a man of principles,” he said he was killing himself for “my jawans and my country”. He died in hospital a few hours later.
The Defence Ministry has said that whether the former serviceman was tacitly encouraged to commit suicide must be investigated.
Yesterday, Mr Gandhi, who is Vice President of the Congress, was detained twice by the police to prevent him from meeting Subedar Grewal’s son, Jaswant Grewal, who alleged he had been beaten up by the police.
The former soldier’s relatives were taken from hospital where his body lay to a police station because they were allegedly creating a racket by protesting against the government.
Notably, just days ago, PM Modi had said the first installment of nearly Rs 5,500 crore has been paid for implementing the OROP scheme.
“The OROP was not about just Rs 200 crore or Rs 500 crore, but Rs 10,000 crore… After I became the PM, and decided that I had to do (implement) it, the entire government lost sleep over it… It was not possible for the government to pay in one go, so I requested the ex-servicemen to accept it in four installments.
“The money will reach them in four installments. Nearly, Rs 5,500 crore has been paid as the first installment,” PM Modi had said.