Switching into war-mode, Punjab Congress on Thursday announced state-wide protest on Friday against the “shabby and inhumane treatment” meted out to deceased Subedar Ram Kishen’s family.
The State Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh said that the party workers would stage protests in all districts of the State and a memorandum would be submitted to the Governor on Friday in protest to ex-serviceman’s suicide on the One Rank One Pension (OROP) issue.
lashing out at the Modi government, in general, and the Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, in particular, Capt Amarinder said that they were both “responsible” for Subedar Ram Kishen’s suicide.
“Party workers have been directed to hold dharnas in all the districts of Punjab while I will personally lead a delegation of ex-servicemen cell of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) to submit a memorandum of protest to the state Governor on the issue of the Delhi Police misbehavior with the ex-serviceman’s family,” he said.
As ex-soldier himself, Capt Amarinder unequivocally condemned the shocking high-handedness of the Delhi Police against party’s national vice-president Rahul Gandhi as well as the family of Subedar (retired) Ram Kishen, who committed suicide in New Delhi on Thursday.
Ram Kishen, in his suicide note, had blamed the prolonged delay over the OROP settlement for his decision to take the extreme step.
Capt Amarinder said that the suicide by Subedar Ram Kishen reflected complete apathy of the NDA government to the plight of soldiers. “It has led to total demoralisation of the forces, which are feeling gravely let down after the incident,” he said.
“As a soldier myself, I cannot allow the dignity of army personnel to be compromised in any manner,” said Capt Amarinder, adding that the Modi Government seemed hell bent on demoralising the country’s defence personnel.
Reiterating that dialogue and negotiations with Pakistan was the only solution, the PPCC president cautioned against the continued escalation of tension along the borders in Jammu and Kashmir. “NDA-led Government is deliberately trying to create tension along the borders in order to polarise people with an eye on the Uttar Pradesh elections,” he alleged.
Expressing concern over the continuous process of expelling and withdrawing diplomats by India and Pakistan, he said that dialogue was the only option between the two countries. He called for an immediate end to the continuous firing along the borders by the two countries.
The State party president also criticised the NDA Government for politicising the surgical strikes. “There is nothing new about these as earlier such operations were carried out by the Indian army…Earlier these were called raids across the border and now they are trying to make political capital out of it by terming these as surgical strikes,” he added.