Busting the claims made by Lok Sabha Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, the Army has clarified that Agniveer Ajay Kumar’s family has been paid ₹ 98.39 lakh. Gandhi had claimed that Rajnath Singh “lied” to Parliament about compensation of ₹ 1 crore being paid to the family.
Asserting that the Agniveer’s supreme sacrifices are honoured and acknowledged, the Indian Army condemned “certain posts on social media” that claimed compensation hasn’t been paid to the family of Agniveer Ajay Kumar, who lost his life in the line of duty.
“The last rites were carried out with full Military Honours. Of the total amount due, family of Agniveer Ajay has already been paid ₹ 98.39 lakh. Compensation and other benefits amounting to approximately ₹ 67 lakh will be paid on Final Account Settlement shortly post police verification. The total amount will be ₹ 1.65 crore approximately,” the Army added.
The information by an insider corroborated the Army’s claim about the same. Despite that, Rahul Gandhi in a video message stated, “Protection of truth is the basis of every religion. But Defence Minister Rajnath Singh lied in Parliament about the assistance given to the family of martyred Agniveer.”
Rahul Gandhi demanded apology to the Parliament, the country, the Army and the family of Agniveer Ajay Singh from Rajnath Singh.
In the same video, Ajay Singh’s father stated that “their family had not received” any compensation from the Centre. Later, the family accepted that they have received the amount mentioned and that ₹ 50 lakh was from an insurance policy.
“First, we got 50 lakh insurance money from the ICICI bank. Then we got ₹ 48 lakh from the Army. We haven’t received the full amount yet. The Army has told us that they will give us ₹ 60 lakh more. We haven’t received that money yet though. Don’t know when we will get it,” he said.
Reacting to the claims by Rahul Gandhi, Rajnath Singh’s office shared the Army’s post and mentioned, “The Indian Army is committed for the welfare of Agniveers” accusing Gandhi that “he should not try to mislead the House by making wrong statements. Financial assistance of ₹ 1 crore is given to the family of the Agniveer.”
