New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday cited the difference in the terms of benefits given to the families of Agniveers and those of regular jawans after their martyrdom and said discrimination in the sacrifice of martyrs is an insult to them.
Gandhi, who has been critical of the Agnipath scheme, shared on X a chart showing less benefits for the families of Agniveers than to those of regular soldiers after they lay down their lives in the line of duty.
“Discrimination in the sacrifice of martyrs is an insult to them,” Gandhi said.
The blood of every martyr should have the same value, he asserted.
Earlier this week, Gandhi had alleged that the Agnipath scheme was devised to ‘insult’ India’s bravehearts as no pension or other benefits are given to the families of Agniveers after their martyrdom. The BJP had refuted the charge.
Gandhi had shared a picture of Agniveer Gavate Akshay Laxman and said the news of his death in Siachen was saddening.
‘My deepest condolences to his family. A young man was martyred for the country – no gratuity, no other military facilities for his service, and no pension to his family in martyrdom.
“Agniveer is a plan to insult the heroes of India,” Gandhi had said in a post on X.
Laxman died in the line of duty in Siachen in the early hours of last Saturday.
The Agnipath scheme was introduced in 2022 for short-term contractual recruitment, extending to a maximum of four years, of soldiers in the tri-services – the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.
(Published 28 October 2023, 17:03 IST)