Chandigarh: Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Friday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party, saying those who talk of nationalism should answer why 1.22 lakh vacancies in the armed forces have not been filled. Pilot said this at a program to release the Congress booklet ‘Vote in the name of bravery, hurt the interests of the army’ here. This booklet, underscores how the BJP government at the Center has compromised the interests of the armed forces personnel, but is seeking votes in the name of their (soldiers’) valor.
Pilot released this booklet along with Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera. Pilot said that this document has been prepared from government statements and official data. Referring to the government’s reply in Parliament, Pilot, a senior Congress leader from Rajasthan, claimed that there are around 1,22,555 vacancies in the armed forces, but the government is not doing anything to fill these vacancies or for the welfare of soldiers. Is. “Those who talk of nationalism, they should answer why these posts were not filled in the last seven years,” he told reporters.
read also
Pilot said, “The government has accepted that there are 1,22,555 vacancies in the armed forces, out of which 10,000 are of officers. Somewhere, we are compromising on the external security infrastructure….” On the booklet released ahead of the assembly elections in Punjab on February 20, he said, “Because we believe that the country and the people of the border state Punjab, where brave people have faced many challenges, need to know the truth.” Is required.”
Pilot alleged that the BJP government at the Center taxed the disability pension of soldiers and that the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission discriminated against those soldiers. The Congress pamphlet alleges that ex-servicemen were cheated in the name of ‘Equal Rank, Same Pension’ (OROP). Pilot said the erstwhile United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government led by Manmohan Singh had approved OROP in February 2014.
“A new government came after the elections (2014 Lok Sabha polls)… But even after seven years, three million ex-servicemen got nothing,” he said. In addition, the budget for the ECHS scheme for soldiers and their families has been reduced by about Rs 2,000 crore, Pilot claimed. “In CSD canteens, for the first time, shopping was brought under GST (Goods and Services Tax) and there was a cap on the purchase,” he said. He said that there is a difference between the intentions and actions of the Centre. He also said that the disability pension of soldiers was brought under the tax net.
Pilot said the Border Security Force (BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) perform duty in difficult terrain and challenging conditions and face terrorism and naxal threats. Huh. “But the government refused to give martyr status to these personnel who lost their lives in terrorist and Naxalite attacks,” he said. (agency)