High political drama unfolded on the streets of central Delhi throughout Wednesday as the police detained top Opposition leaders trying to meet the family of an ex-serviceman who committed suicide seeking uniform pensions for retired military personnel.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was detained twice in the day, while chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia were also held back, re-igniting a political row over the controversial one-rank-one-pension (Orop) scheme.
Ram Kishan Grewal, 70, consumed poison in the lawns next to Rajpath after he failed to deliver a petition to defence minister Manohar Parrikar, prompting Opposition politicians to reach a city hospital to meet the deceased’s family members who were allegedly roughed up by the police. News channels showed Mr Gandhi rebuking the police. “Have you no shame,” he asked, wanting to know how they could act against an Army veteran’s son. The police said it was forced to act when leaders ignored orders to move away from Ram Manhoar Lohia Hospital to restore medical services, which had got severely affected.
The row has erupted three days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spent Diwali with soldiers to bolster the Centre’s pro-Army campaign following September’s anti-terror surgical strikes across the LoC.
The Centre approved the retiral policy — a major election issue in 2014 — last year and recently paid Rs 5,500 crore as its first instalment, but sections of ex-servicemen say concerns remain.
“I am sacrificing my life for my country and its brave soldiers,” said a note purportedly left by Grewal, a resident of Haryana’s Bhiwani. He was a prominent face of an agitation for Orop. He was also heard in a pre-suicide clip making similar comments.
The opposition intensified its protests when Union minister and former Army chief V.K. Singh reportedly said, “Orop is being shown as the reason (behind the suicide). What his (the Army veteran’s) mental state was we do not know. Let it be probed first”.
More drama ensued when the police tried to take Mr Gandhi and senior Congress leaders around Connaught Place in a police bus, but it was not allowed to move by Congress workers. Finally it was taken to a nearby police station where Mr Gandhi was released.
“I was arrested for doing my job. Is it wrong to offer condolences to the grieving family of a jawan ” the Congress leader asked. He asked the government to apologise to the bereaved family.
Sources in the defence ministry however said that Grewal had been drawing his pensions as per the Sixth Pay Commission report and had also received his first tranche of Orop arrears. “He was not drawing his revised pension as per the Seventh Pay Commission. No one has got it yet,” a government source said.
Several Congress leaders including Randeep Surjewala, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Kumari Selja were detained while police was seen dragging scores of AAP workers outside Parliament Street Police station.
Mr Kejriwal accused the Centre of using the Army for electoral gains by a “pseudo declaration” of Orop, and snatching away the rights of the armed forces. “You are using the Army and snatching away the rights of the jawans,” he said.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee expressed shock at the detention of her Delhi counterpart, saying it was “unprecedented and unacceptable”. “What is happening Unprecedented. A CM is detained in his own State. He cannot move about freely. Unacceptable,” she tweeted.
