AARYAN Sharma
JAMMU: Barely six days before BSF brave-heart from RS Pura,Gurnam Singh, attained martyrdom in Hiranagar Sector in a sniping incident, the BJP-PDP alliance government had announced in a landmark cabinet decision to treat the martyrs of army and other central security forces at par with those of J&K Police and provide them ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh and a job under SRO-43 to one of the member of the bereaved family. The decision was taken during the cabinet meeting chaired by Mehbooba Mufti on October 13.
Four weeks later when Deputy Chief Minister Prof Nirmal Singh visited residence of the martyr and paid condolences to his family members assuring that the government would provide all the necessary support to them including job to the next of the kin besides ensuring that the ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakh (from the Centre) and Rs 1 lakh from the state government will be provided to them at the earliest”.
Question is if the State Cabinet had taken a landmark decision of providing Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of the martyrs why the family was given an assurance that the State Government would provide Rs 1 lakh to them at the earliest.
Dr Nirmal Singh had earlier provided cash assistance to the tune of Rs 5 lakh to each bereaved families of Subedar Karnail Singh of Shibuchak falling in Bishnah and Havaldar Ravi Pal of Saarba village of Samba Assembly Constituency martyred in Uri attack on September 18, 2016.
He had stated that although Rs 5 lakh cannot provide succour for long but a government job under SRO-43 will prove a lifelong assistance to the affected family.
Interestingly, when the cabinet decision was taken the State BJP unit had issued a statement hailing the same.
The statement issued by the spokesman had stated, “Dr. Nirmal Singh successfully persuaded the Chief Minister after whose consent the Government has agreed to give ex-gratia and job under SRO-43 to the next of kin on compassionate grounds to the families of all martyrs belonging to Army and CAPF hailing from the State who attain martyrdom anywhere in the country”.
“The decision of the Government will act as a great morale booster for all soldiers from J&K and their families who are serving in different parts of the country. Bharatiya Janata Party hopes and appeals to the Government that these provisions be effective from retrospective effect.
This act of the BJP-PDP Government is a befitting reply to those who were trying to politicise the issue and casting aspersions on the government and our party”, summed up the party Spokesperson.
So far the State Government gave only Rs 5 lakh as ex-gratia to the kin of only those Army and CAPF personnel who were state subjects and attained martyrdom in J&K only. The families of those martyrs from the State who attained martyrdom elsewhere in the country were neither given cash nor job.
After the Uri terror attack there was a great public sentiment to give ex-gratia to all martyrs’ families.
“In keeping with the public sentiments and commitment of the Bharatiya Janata Party to look after the soldiers and veterans the Party leadership decided to raise the issue with the Government and included the demand of giving ex-gratia to all martyrs’ families even if they were martyred outside the State as well as provision of job on compassionate grounds.
