Don't divide Army into two categories: Kirti Chakra awardee's mother after meeting Rahul Gandhi
Raebareli/Lucknow (UP), Jul 10: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday met Kirti Chakra recipient Captain Anshuman Singh's mother, who later spoke against the Agnipath scheme and urged the government not to divide the Army into two categories.
Her appeal comes amid Gandhi raising questions on the Agnipath scheme and claiming that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh "lied" in Parliament about the issue of compensation to the families of martyred Agniveers.
"I request the government not to divide the Army into two categories," the late captain's mother Manju Singh told reporters after Gandhi met her at a guesthouse in Raebareli.
The four-year job role is not appropriate as Agniveers who are let go would struggle to find another suitable career, she said while raising apprehension on the Army scheme launched in 2022 for short-term recruitment of jawans.
"They (Agniveers) will be mentally and physically weak after four years after which they would be unable to pursue their studies... this is not good," she added.
Her son was posthumously conferred the Kirti Chakra, India's second-highest peacetime gallantry award, by President Droupadi Murmu on July 5 during an investiture ceremony.
Capt Singh died while rescuing people from a major fire in July last year.
While he was returning to Delhi, Gandhi was asked about his meeting with the Army officer's mother. He said he will speak about the matter in Parliament.
Gandhi had called the martyr's family, which resides in Lucknow, to meet them at the guest house.
After meeting the Congress leader, the late captain's mother told reporters that Gandhi assured all possible support to their family.
"Gandhi said that he requested the government to end the Agniveer scheme as it is not appropriate for the Army," she said.
During his Raebareli visit, Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, also visited the AIIMS there and met party workers and local residents of his constituency.
After landing at the Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport in Lucknow, Gandhi left by road for Raebareli, which is about 80 km from the state capital. Party workers and leaders were at the Lucknow airport to give a warm send off to Rahul Gandhi.
On the way to Raebareli, he stopped at Churwa temple near Bachhrawan and paid obeisance to Lord Hanuman.
"Rahul Gandhi worshipped at the Churwa Hanuman temple and prayed to Lord Hanuman for the happiness, peace and prosperity of the country," the Congress party said on X.
Gandhi reached the Bohemian guest house, where he met party workers, delegations including that of Indian Industries Association (IIA) and locals, a local party leader said.
He also visited the martyrs' memorial in Lalganj and laid a wreath there and planted a sapling. He also visited AIIMS-Raebareli.
In the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, Gandhi won from the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat by a margin of more than 3.90 lakh votes.
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ACB case against Sisodia, Jain a political move to pressurise them: AAP
New Delhi (PTI): The Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday said the ACB's case against its leaders Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain was registered to "pressurise and scare" them as they were recently appointed as incharge and co-incharge of Punjab party unit.
The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Delhi government has filed a case against former deputy CM and education minister Sisodia, and ex-PWD minister Jain, over alleged corruption in the construction of government schools.
The scam is pegged at around Rs 2,000 crore and involved awarding contracts at highly inflated rates with classrooms reportedly built at Rs 24.86 lakh each, nearly five times the usual cost, the ACB added in a statement.
Reacting to the development, the BJP said there was corruption in the construction of schools in Delhi under the previous AAP government.
AAP national media in-charge Anurag Dhanda in a press conference dismissed the charges and said the case was a "political" move to "pressurise and scare" Sisodia and Jain.
"The way cases are being registered against Sisodia and other leaders, I feel there could soon be cases against him for occupying the minister's seat, for forgetting to put a comma or a full stop in a document," Dhanda said.
Dhanda added that the BJP government does no work, instead it files cases against AAP leaders on every matter.
"It can not be a mere coincidence that earlier a case was registered against party leader Durgesh Pathak when he became co-incharge of Gujarat. Now, a case has been registered against Sisodia and Satyendar Jain who are in charge and co-incharge of the Punjab unit of AAP," Dhanda stated.
Earlier in March, the AAP appointed Sisodia as in-charge and former minister Jain as co-in-charge of the Punjab unit of the party.
"The BJP should understand it well that AAP leaders are not scared by their agencies like ED and CBI or such empty threats," Dhanda added.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva demanded the ACB to probe the role of then chief minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal in the alleged scam.
"This is a decisive moment in the fight against corruption of AAP and its previous government in Delhi," he said.
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