Bajwa flays Badal for 'ignoring' family of Siachen martyr

Former Punjab Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa today criticised Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for "ignoring" the family of a soldier, Capt Ashwani Kumar, who lost his life when an avalanche struck a patrol party in Siachen in Ladakh sector last November.
"The men deployed on Siachen, which is the highest battlefield in the world, in every sense of the term perform the toughest job as sentinels to maintain round the clock security in this strategic region," he said.
Regimental Medical Officer Captain Ashwini Kumar had died on November 13 after an avalanche struck the patrol party he was a part of. Fifteen other soldiers were rescued.

"They don't have to just engage the enemy but also fight against the nature. The government just can't be so callous as to ignore their sacrifices, the way Badal has treated the Patiala-based family of Capt Ashwani Kumar was bad," he added.
The Chief Minister had visited the house of the soldier on November 21 and had handed over a cheque for Rs 5 lakh with the promise to provide more help.
"The state government had announced Rs 10 lakh as financial help and free education to younger brother of the martyr," he said.
However, the family, which is comparatively poor and in need of help is still waiting for it, he said adding the case seems to have lost somewhere in the government files.

He said the governments, both at the Centre and in the states, should give first priority to taking care of families of the martyrs.