Rahul Gandhi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had been engaged in a verbal sparring match on the compensation awarded to the family of Ajay Singh, who deceased in a landmine explosion in the Rajouri area of Jammu & Kashmir in January of this year. Rahul Gandhi also paid the Payal subdivision family a visit on May 29 after traveling to Ludhiana for a Lok Sabha election rally.
Gandhi, in the last Lok Sabha session, demanded the end of the Agniveer Army recruiting plan, which was initiated by the national government led by the BJP. He described the system as a “use and throw” one that makes a distinction between temporary recruits and permanent troops. He had claimed that the Center had not given Ajay Singh’s family any compensation. Rajnath Singh, however, called the accusations untrue and stated that the government pays the families of Agniveers who pass away while doing their duties with compensation of Rs 1 crore.
A number of electronic media reporters were chased away by the family of dead Agniveer Ajay Singh (23) in Ramgarh Sardaran village in Payal sub-division of Ludhiana district, claiming that they were bothering them. This led to a high-stakes scene outside his residence. Even after six months since their son’s death, Ajay Singh’s family said on Thursday that they had not got any ex gratia money from the Army or the Centre.
“We have received Rs 98 lakh from insurance cover claim,” said laborer Charanjit Singh Kala, Ajay Singh’s father. This includes an insurance policy (rather than an ex gratia payment) of Rs 48 lakh from the Army. A private bank has also paid out an additional Rs 50 lakh as payment for my son’s insurance coverage. We have received an amount of Rs 1 crore from the Punjab government. However, Rajnath Singh’s assertion that the Center has compensated us with Rs 1 crore is wholly false. Neither the Center nor the Army have yet to provide us with ex gratia payments.