OROP: Rahul detained, not allowed to meet kin of deceased ex-serviceman
70-year-old ex-serviceman Ram Kishan Grewal from Haryana allegedly ended his life on Tuesday by consuming poison.
New Delhi:
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was on Wednesday not allowed to meet the kin of ex-serviceman Ram Kishan Grewal, who allegedly committed suicide over the delay in implementation of the One Rank, One Pension (OROP) scheme, at the RML Hospital in the national capital.
Gandhi was not allowed to enter the hospital premises by the security personnel deployed at the entrance gate.
Speaking to reporters, Rahul wondered whether democracy works in this fashion.
-"Naya Hindustan ban raha hai bhaiya (New India is in making)...This is Modi ji's India,-" the Congress-vice president said after he was denied entry.
Congress workers protested outside Mandir Marg Police Station following Rahul's detention.
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and AAP MLA Surinder Singh were also detained at the RML Hospital after Sisodia met the family of an ex-serviceman who allegedly committed suicide over the OROP issue.
-"Rahul Gandhi was detained at Mandir Marg Police Station for 'disruption of duty' after he tried to enter RML premises to meet the family of the ex-serviceman,-" Senior police officer MK Meena said.
Meena added that 'this is a hospital, not a place for demonstration,' stating that AAP leaders who were 'creating disturbance' were also detained.
He claimed that the family members of the deceased were protesting at the site and contacting politicians, following which they too were held.
Earlier, Sisodia managed to enter the hospital premises and meet the family members of the deceased, before being detained by police.
Eyewitnesses said Sisodia could enter the premises as he came in a civilian car, which went undetected by the security.
A senior official of the hospital said the deceased, Ram Kishan Grewal, was -"brought dead to the hospital at 1:45 am last night-".
-"His body was sent for post-mortem to Lady Hardinge at 7:30 am in the morning today,-" the official said.
Vehicular movement ouitside the hospital was thrown out of gear as Rahul Gandhi's presence led to chaos.
Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal stated that he would reach the hospital to meet Grewal's family 'shortly'.
-"Deputy CM has also been detained. We have a cabinet meeting today which we will have to cancel now. This is 'gundagardi',-" Kejriwal said after Manish Sisodia had been detained outside the hospital.
Grewal consumed poison last afternoon. However, the cause behind Grewal's suicide is yet to be ascertained.
Kejriwal will be visiting Grewal's family in Bhiwani in Haryana later in the day.
Grewal's son Jaswant urged the government to look into the matter.
-"My father sacrificed for the nation. He was demanding the One Rank, One Pension. The Modi Government should think about this,-" he said.
On Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi again asked the Prime Minister to implement One Rank, One Pension in a meaningful way and said soldiers should not have to struggle to claim what is their due.
-"I urge the PM once again: soldiers should not have to struggle to claim what is their due. OROP must be implemented in a meaningful way!
-"My heartfelt condolences to the family of Subedar Ram Kishan Grewal. Extremely sad to learn of his death,-" the Congress Vice President said on micro-blogging site Twitter.
His plea came soon after reports that 70-year-old ex-serviceman Ram Kishan Grewal from Haryana's Bhiwani district allegedly ended his life in the lawns behind the Jawahar Bhavan last evening.
Police had said he along with some other ex-servicemen was in the process of submitting a memorandum to the Defence Ministry over the issue of OROP.
Pinning the letter he wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi four days ago, Gandhi said -"Let us show our gratitude to our brave soldiers not only through our words but also through our actions.-"
In the letter, Gandhi had questioned Modi government's resolve to work for soldiers' welfare, asking the Prime Minister to first implement the 'one rank, one pension' scheme in a meaningful way and redress their pay anomalies and other grievances.
The Congress Vice President had told the Prime Minister that he was saddened at the decisions of the government taken in the last few weeks -"which are far from reassuring the soldiers and has caused them pain instead-".
Steps should be taken to send a message to soldiers on Diwali expressing -"our gratitude both in words and in deed-", Rahul had said in the letter to the Prime Minister who has launched a campaign through which people can send their Diwali greetings and messages to soldiers guarding the nation's frontiers to boost their morale.
-"Just days after our soldiers conducted the surgical strikes, the disability pension system was converted to a new slab system, that in many instances drastically reduces the pension received by these brave men in case of a disability,-" the Congress leader had said.
-"OROP must be implemented in a meaningful way to satisfy ex-servicemen and the anomalies in the 7th Pay Commission must be addressed at the earliest, because soldiers should not have to struggle to claim what is surely due to them on behalf of a grateful nation,-" Rahul had said, claiming that some decision of the government have -"adversely affect the morale of our armed forces-".
The Prime Minister had earlier accused Congress of not taking the OROP issue seriously by earmarking a paltry sum of Rs 500 crore for it.
Rahul had said, -"As a responsible democracy we must make sure that the brave soldiers who put their lives on the line for each one of us, feel the love, support and gratitude of 125 crore people.-"
-"I, therefore, urge you Prime Minister to ensure that our soldiers get their due whether it is regarding compensation, disability pension, or parity with civil employees,-" he had said.
Modi, while celebrating the Diwali with the army and ITBP personnel in Sumdo, Kinnaur, had said that the first instalment of nearly Rs. 5,500 crore has been paid for implementing the OROP scheme.
The Prime Minister also asserted that he has -"fulfilled the promise-" which he made to ex-servicemen on the issue that has been hanging fire for the last 40 years.
OROP scheme has been a long-standing demand of nearly three-million ex-servicemen and war widows in the country.
It seeks to ensure that a uniform pension is paid to defence personnel, who retire at the same rank with the same length of service irrespective of their date of retirement.
