After the video of a BSF man showing poor quality food being served to them on the icy border in Jammu and Kashmir drew outrage, more such clips have emerged on the social media, including those of an army jawan and a CRPF constable complaining about deprivation and harassment by seniors.
Taking a serious note of video of BSF constable Tej Bahadur Yadav, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) today asked Union Home Ministry to submit a "detailed factual report" on the complaint and action taken thereof.
As the government was trying to fend off criticism on the social media about alleged ill-treatment of men in uniform posted in inhospitable places following Yadav's allegations, the new videos surfaced.
A clip posted by a CRPF constable was trending in the social media in which the trooper was seen demanding parity in pay and other benefits between army and paramilitary forces, citing the difficult assignments they had to undertake.
CRPF, the country's largest paramilitary force, quickly stepped in and said it has taken "cognisance" of the issues raised by the jawan, who identified himself in the video as Jeet Singh.
"This is an old video. The jawan has service-related grievances and is seeking parity in pay and other benefits. An Inspector General rank officer of the force has already got in touch with him. We have made it clear that if there are any problems to the troops, we will address them immediately," CRPF Director General K Durga Prasad told PTI.
Another video showed Lance Naik Y P Singh alleging "abuse" by his senior officers who oftened threatened him that he would lose his job if he did not follow their orders which included polishing their shoes.
In a report submitted to the Home Ministry today, the BSF said there was no shortage of food at the post where Yadav was serving. It said no personnel deployed at the post had complained about food when a senior BSF officer visited them a week ago, official sources said.
BSF said 'daal' shown in the BSF jawan's video was
uncanned from tinned food ration and 'parantha' was cooked in the unit's mess as per the procedure followed at high-altitude locations.
A report from the army is also expected soon, the sources said, adding a jawan is entitled to around Rs 2,800 per month as food allowance and he is given food under the stipulated amount.
An inter-ministerial committee with representatives from the Ministries of Home, Finance and others today discussed the issue of 'Risk and Hardship Allowance' for paramilitary personnel as recommended by the 7th Pay Commission to find a solution to the long-standing demand.
In Gujarat, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said he personally monitors quality of food served to Army and has ordered serving of only FSSAI-approved chicken.
Speaking to reporters on sidelines of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, he said he would not be able to comment much about BSF as it comes under Home Ministry.
"But in last two years, for the Army we have been continuously evaluating that whether satisfaction level for the food being served has increased or not. I am myself monitoring it," he said.
Meanwhile, a man claiming himslef to be an SSB jawan also told news channels that he was facing similar problems while being on duty.
