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Gurkha on hunger strike in UK over pension increase demand

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ANI London

A Gurkha soldier, Gyanraj Rai, is on a hunger strike for the last 15 days over a demand for an adequate pension increase from the pitiful 260 pounds per month at present.

He is demanding that his pension be raised to 1,000 pounds per month.

The extra cost to the exchequer would be under 10 million pounds per annum for the 12,000 veterans (pre-1997) for the number of years they live from now.

It is a small cost to the people who sacrifice their lives for the Queen and the Country.

According to The Hindu Council UK, Gyanraj Rai has said that he is only following his "Dharma", and yet the Ministry of Defence has called him an extremist.

 

Conservative Member of Parliament Rob Wilson has lent his support to Rai's cause, and the APPG on Gurkha welfare are uniting to lobby this change.

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First Published: Nov 22 2013 | 6:54 PM IST

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