Baijal rejects Delhi's Rs 1 cr aid to ex-serviceman's kin

Lt. Governor Anil Baijal has rejected Delhi government's decision to give Rs 1 crore financial assistance to the family of retired soldier Ram Kishan Grewal, Baijal's office said on Thursday.

Grewal, a 70-year-old ex-serviceman from Haryana, committed suicide in November last year during a protest for demanding implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme.

The Lt Governor's Office said Grewal's case "does not fall within the parameters" of the Delhi government's scheme to grant the ex-gratia payment.

"As per the existing scheme, ex-gratia payment is made in case of defence, paramilitary forces, Delhi Police, Home Guard, Civil Defence and Delhi Fire Service personnel dying in discharge of official duty," it said.

It added that the serviceman also needs to be a resident of Delhi, which was not so in Grewal's case.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Lt. Governor's decision and called him "anti-soldier".

" Narendra Modi (is) anti-soldier. He doesn't provide soldiers a proper meal. But when we offer to give assistance to a deceased soldier's family, why is he stopping us," the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader tweeted.

--IANS

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