Rahul Gandhi News : In his first speech as the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi raised the issue of the return of Agniveers. Soon after Rahul accused the government of not giving compensation to the family of martyred Agniveer Ajay Kumar of Ramgarh Sardara village in Ludhiana district, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh countered the allegation and claimed that the government is giving compensation of Rs 1 crore to the family of martyred Agniveer.
Since that day, there has been a face-to-face battle between opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and the central government on the issue of compensation to the family of martyr Agniveer. Rahul opened a front against the government and started a video war by sharing the conversation with Agniveer's family on social media. While talking to Rahul Gandhi, the family of martyr Agniveer said that they have not received any compensation from the government. Martyr Agniveer's father Charanjit said that the Bhagwant Mann government of Punjab gave him Rs 1 crore and assured a government job to one sister. Ajay Singh has six sisters. The army gave Rs 48 lakh. The central government did not give a single rupee.
After this video surfaced, the Indian Army responded saying that Rs 98.39 lakh has been given. A total of Rs 1.65 crore is to be received. The remaining amount will be paid after police verification. However, the district police chief clarified that they have no verification pending from Ajay Kumar's family. In short, the information provided was incomplete.
After the army talked about compensation, Rahul Gandhi again shared the video. In this, the Leader of Opposition said that the government should understand that there is a difference between insurance and compensation. The amount that Ajay Kumar's family has received is through an insurance company. The compensation from the government has not been received. Rahul Gandhi demanded that Rajnath Singh has given wrong information to the people of the country in this matter. He should apologize publicly.
Former army officers have also jumped into this debate. Former Navy Chief Karamveer Singh said that the Agniveer scheme can reduce the combat effectiveness of the army. One type of risk, one type of work and inequality in terms of compensation can raise the question of discontent among the soldiers.
Former Navy Chief Arun Prakash also raised questions on Agniveer. He said that all other matters should be kept under national security. It is true that there can be no compromise in giving the soldiers what they deserve. The soldiers protect the country by risking their lives. It is important to take care of their families. MM Naravane had earlier criticized the Agniveer scheme and said that only a limited number of personnel should be selected for short-term service.
Retired Major Navdeep Singh said that in all other jobs, if a person dies during duty, his family gets pension as per the previous job, but not in the case of Agniveer. Retired Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur also supported this and said that in the police force etc. those who are not on duty also get compensation, but the family of Agniveer will not get any such assistance. This inequality should be considered.
Amidst the controversy, the Army has given two suggestions to the Centre
Reports quoting army sources claim that the army has proposed two major changes in Agniveer to the government. The first suggestion is to increase the age limit. Currently, the maximum age for Agniveer is 21 years. It has been suggested to increase it to 23. Another suggestion is also important. According to this, after four years, the army will recommend the government to give permanent jobs to 50 percent of the total fire fighters. Currently, 25 percent of fire fighters are given permanent jobs.
Agniveer committed suicide in Agra Air Force camp
Amidst this controversy of Agniveer, an Agniveer named Srikant Choudhary committed suicide in the Air Force camp of Agra. The reason behind the suicide is not yet clear, but the news of another Agniveer's suicide has raised questions on the Agniveer's plan.