Taking a jibe at the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for announcing to enhance cash grant for Param Vir Chakra awardees to
Rs2 crores “without actually meaning it”, Congress Deputy leader in the lok Sabha Capt Amarinder Singh on Sunday said that Badal should know that PVC is a wartime award only and we are not having any wars for last 16 years.
“Either Badal is not aware that there has been no war after Kargil in 1999 and there are not going to be any PVC winners, as it is a wartime award only, or he has deliberately done it as he knows he will not need to pay any money no matter how much grant he enhances,” said Capt Amarinder.
“We hope and pray that there is no war but we must also understand and acknowledge that our Armed Forces are engaged in a proxy war which also costs lives in sores and where our soldiers show exemplary gallantry paying with their lives at several times for which they are awarded highest peacetime honours like Ashok Chakra,” he pointed out.
He said that Badal should also make it clear that those fighting the insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir and some North Eastern states and are awarded highest peace time gallantry awards like Ashok Chakra should also be included.
“Or he wants us to wait for the war to take place,” he wondered, while making a strong case for including peacetime gallantry awards also for the enhanced cash grant.