Our Correspondent

Una, November 5

State BJP president and Una MLA Satpal Singh Satti today asked Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders to stop degrading the status of a martyr.Addressing mediapersons at the Circuit House here, he termed the incident in which former Army man, Ram Krishan Grewal, committed suicide on the OROP issue as unfortunate.The BJP leader said if members of the Opposition parties referred to the former soldier, who took his own life as a martyr, then how the country should define the men who make the supreme sacrifice while fighting for the security and integrity of the motherland? He said political parties were doing so to gain cheap political publicity.Satti said the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party were trying to implicate Prime Minister Narendra Modi in unfortunate mishaps in the country, just for the sake of politics. He advised Congress activists to burning effigies of leaders from Nehru and Gandhi family instead of burning effigies of the Prime Minister. It was Congress leaders who were responsible for the partition of India that led to the biggest migration of human population in the world, besides triggering the death of lakhs of people in India and Pakistan.Satti said the then deliberate mistake, including the Constitutional provision of a special status state to Jammu and Kashmir continues to give pain and agony to the people of the country. He questioned the reason why the then Congress government had released 90,000 Pakistani prisoners after the 1971 war.The BJP leader asked the Congress leaders to spell out the financial assistance rendered to the families of martyrs during the 1962, 1965 and 1971 wars against China and Pakistan, adding that during the Kargil war which took place during the NDA regime, martyrs were cremated with honours at their respective native places and their families were given adequate financial compensation, besides alternate avenues for income generation.Satti said after the Modi-led NDA government took over, India had not only witnessed increased pace of development, but its image in the international forums has also enhanced manifolds. He said today, Pakistan stands isolated on the issue of terrorism, adding that dozens of Muslim-dominated countries were with India on the issue.

‘Rahul shedding crocodile tears over OROP’

Tribune News Service

Shimla, November 5

Former Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition PK Dhumal today lashed out at All-India Congress Committee (AICC) vice-president Rahul Gandhi for shedding crocodile tears on the issue of one rank, one pension (OROP). He said the Congress did nothing during the past 40 years to resolve the issue and was trying to mislead the people.Decrying the attempts of Rahul to derive political mileage from the suicide committed by an ex-serviceman, Dhumal said Congress leaders had only exposed their “insensitiveness” over such a sensitive issue.Recalling that he had raised the issue for first time in Lok Sabha in 1990 and brought it in public domain, Dhumal said the Congress leaders misled ex-servicemen on this issue by making false promises and when the demand started gaining momentum in 2013, the UPA government made a provision of only Rs 500 crore, which tantamount to playing with sentiments of ex-soldiers.Cautioning the ex-servicemen to remain vigilant against the sinister designs of the Congress, Dhumal said “Ex-servicemen should not forget that Modi government had already released Rs 5,500 crore for implementing OROP and more funds would be released to ensure that every ex-soldier got the benefit of the OROP.