NEW DELHI: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh "lied" in Parliament about the issue of compensation to families of martyred Agniveers and demanded an apology for it. The Army on Wednesday refuted Gandhi's claim, stating that the family of the Agniveer had been paid Rs 98 lakh.
The Congress leader also shared a video on X purportedly of the father of a deceased Agniveer who stated that Rajnath Singh had claimed that Rs 1 crore compensation had been given to the next of kin of martyred Agniveers but no such assistance was received by his family.
Sharing the video message posted by her brother, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also accused the BJP of "insulting the sacrifice of the families" who gave up their sons for the country In his video, Rahul Gandhi said that he had stated in his speech in Parliament that the protection of truth is the basis of every religion.
"In reply, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, before Lord Shiva's photo, lied to the country, its armed forces and Agniveers about compensation," Gandhi said in the video.
He then referred to the purported statement by the father of an Agniveer martyr Ajay Singh.
Ajay Singh's father said that Rajnath Singh made the statement that families of martyrs have been given Rs 1 crore compensation but no such assistance had been received by his family.
"Rahul Gandhi is raising our voice in Parliament that families of martyrs must get all necessary help. Agniveer recruitment must stop and regular recruitment should be reinstated," he said.
Gandhi said the defence minister had "lied" to the family of martyr Ajay Singh, the armed forces and the youth of the country, and must apologise to them.
Gandhi's fresh attack came after Rajnath Singh rebutted the Leader of Opposition's claims in the Lok Sabha on the Agnipath military recruitment scheme, saying it was rolled out after taking suggestions from 158 organisations.
The Congress leader had on Monday criticised the Agnipath scheme for short-term military recruitment and said that the government does not even give them the status of a "shaheed" (martyr) and that no compensation is extended to their families if they are killed in action.
Singh, who intervened when Gandhi was speaking on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address, said that an Agniveer who lays down his life in the line of duty gets a compensation of Rs 1 crore.
The Union minister had asked Gandhi not to mislead Parliament and also requested Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to expunge the former Congress president's claims on the Agnipath scheme.
Intervening, the defence minister had said, "I would like to humbly request the leader of the opposition not to try to mislead Parliament.
Regarding the Agniveer scheme, direct communication was established with many people, 158 organisations, their suggestions were taken, then this Agniveer scheme was brought.This scheme has been brought after a lot of thought."
"And, I would also like to make it clear that these kinds of schemes are operational in many countries. It is there in the US, in the UK. People there do not have any objection. Without understanding the Agniveer scheme, without getting proper information about it...to mislead the House like this, cannot be deemed appropriate," the minister added.
After Singh's rebuttal, Gandhi had said, "Rajnath Singh has an opinion and I have an opinion but Agniveers know the truth.Agniveers know what they have to face."
Sharing Rahul Gandhi's video, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said when he raised the issue of Agniveer from the opposition, the BJP government "lied" in Parliament.
"The BJP is insulting the martyrdom of the families who sacrificed their sons for the country by telling lies.
Is this the nationalism of BJP? The Prime Minister should apologise to the public for lying to the country and insulting the martyrs," she said in a post in Hindi on X.
However, the Army, rebutted the claim and said that Agniveer’s family had been paid Rs 98 lakh.
Taking to X, the Additional Directorate General of Public Information, Integrated Defence Staff Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence, wrote: “Certain posts on Social Media have brought out that compensation hasn’t been paid to the Next of Kin of Agniveer Ajay Kumar who lost his life in the line of duty. Of the total amount due, the family of Agniveer Ajay has already been paid Rs 98.39 lakh. Ex-Gratia and other benefits amounting to approximately Rs 67 lakhs, as applicable according to the provisions of the Agniveer Scheme, will be paid on final account settlement post due police verification. The total amount will be approximately Rs 1.65 Crore.”
The post stated that the Indian Army salutes the supreme sacrifice made by Agniveer Ajay Kumar, whose last rites were conducted with full military honours.