The Congress today accused Defence Minister Rajnath Singh of telling half-truths in the Lok Sabha after Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi raised the issue of the plight of Agniveers there.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here today, Chairman of the Ex-Servicemen Department in the AICC Col (Retd) Rohit Chaudhary and Wing Commander (Retd) Anuma Acharya demanded that the government should bring in a white paper about the Agnipath scheme.
The party reiterated its stand to scrap the Agnipath scheme, as it was against the security interests of the country, besides creating differences and discrimination between the soldiers within the defence services.
Referring to Rajnath Singh’s intervention in the parliament claiming that those Agniveers who die in the line of duty are paid Rs one crore, Col Chaudhary said, he (Singh) did not give the complete picture.
He said, an Agniveer, if he gets killed in the line of duty, gets Rs 48 lakhs from the insurance, Rs 44 lakhs as ex-gratia, and Rs 8 lakh for battle casualty.
But, he added, what Singh did not say, was what the regular soldiers get if they get martyred.
He disclosed that a regular soldier gets about Rs 2.4 crores after 15 years of service and about Rs 2.8 crores after more than 15 years of service.
Besides, he added, if an Agniveer gets killed on day one of his service, his family, besides Rs one crore, gets salary for four years only and nothing more.
Compared to that, a regular soldier’s family gets about Rs 2.4 crores, full salary for 15 years, and family pension after that. Plus, the family gets all the benefits like healthcare, canteen facility, and much more.
He said the Agniveers are not granted martyrdom status. He said there are certain benefits a martyr is entitled to, which are denied to Agniveers.
Col Chaudhary disclosed that there was a decline in recruitment in the defence services after the introduction of the Agnipath scheme, saying during the last four years, there was a shortfall of 3 lakh soldiers.
He also referred to the operational shortcomings of the Agnipath scheme, saying it does not produce battle-hardened soldiers as they are trained for a short duration of six months only.
Speaking on the occasion, Wing Commander (Retd) Anuma Acharya condemned the misuse of the social media handles of the defence services for spreading disinformation by the government.
Referring to the Defence Minister’s claim that the Agnipath scheme was introduced after consultations with about 150 organizations, she said, he must come out with details as such schemes are not discussed in public.
She asked, if the families of the Short Service Commission officers are entitled to various post-retirement benefits, why not the families of the Agniveers.
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