'Rajnath Singh lied in Parliament': Rahul Gandhi over compensation for Agniveers

Rajnath Singh. File pic

Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused Defence Minister Rajnath Singh of "lying" on the floor of the Parliament over the Agniveer scheme and demanded an apology from the latter.

In his video message on X, Rahul Gandhi said that Singh had lied in Parliament about the issue of compensation to families of killed Agniveers.

"The importance of truth in every religion. Rajnath Singh lied before Lord Shiva's photo about the compensation to the country, its armed forces, and Agniveers. I have said in my speech that don't listen to me or his (Rajnath Singh) speech, but listen to the family of Agniveer family," the Leader of the Opposition said in a video message.

He shared the video of the father of Agniveer Ajay Singh who died in Jammu and Kashmir and said that despite Singh's claims, his family had not received the promised compensation.

Ajay Singh's father said, "Rajnath Singh made the statement that families of killed soldiers 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," the father of Agniveer Ajay Singh said.

The Congress leader demanded an apology from the Defence Minister.

"The Defence minister had lied to the family of killed Ajay Singh ji, the armed forces and the youth of the country, and must apologise to them. Daro mat, Darao mat," he added.

Earlier on June 1 in Parliament, Rajnath Singh objected to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's remarks in Lok Sabha on the Agniveer scheme and said financial assistance of one crore rupees is given to the family of the Agniveer who sacrifices his life while protecting the country's borders or during a war.

Rajnath Singh accused Rahul Gandhi of trying to mislead the Lok Sabha by making wrong statements.

"He Rahul Gandhi should not try to mislead the House by making wrong statements. Financial assistance of Rs one crore is given to the family of the Agniveer who sacrifices his life while protecting our borders or during war," the Defence Minister said.

Rahul Gandhi claimed that Agniveer is not called a 'jawan' and said that Agniveers serving for a period of four years will not get a pension.

"On one side, you give him training for six months and on the other side, the Chinese soldiers receive training for five years. You give the rifle to our jawan and make him stand in front of them. You strike fear into his heart. You create a rift between two jawans. One gets a pension and the other does not. And then you call yourself 'deshbhakt'. 'Ye kaise deshbhakt hai?" he asked.

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