By B S Reporter
Politics over demands of martyrs' widows intensifies as Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra wrote a letter to chief minister Ashok Gehlot asking him to take affirmative action on demands of Pulwama martyrs' widows keeping in mind the constitution of welfare state and special nature of the case. The Governor wrote that the state government bears the responsibility of giving due respect to the family of soldiers who give their supreme sacrifice for the country.
Gehlot earlier had turned down the demands saying that the government has already fulfilled all the promises and demands in the package given to martyrs' families as per the rules.
“All kind of help and support has been given to the Pulwama martyrs' dependents as per the rules of this package. Rajasthan government has made a provision that if the wife of a soldier is pregnant at the time of his martyrdom and does not want a job, it will be kept reserved for the child so that their future can be secured,” Gehlot said.
Demands of widows and Gehlot's stand
The widow of martyr Rohitash Lamba is seeking a job for her brother-in-law on compassionate grounds while widow of Herman Meena wants a third statue to be installed despite two others already put up at the Government College, Sangod, and a park in Vinod Kalan, his native village.
Gehlot categorically turned down demands citing them unreasonable. He said that the government has already acted upon the welfare of these widows.
“If the job is given to her brother-in-law, then the family members or relatives of all widows of martyrs might start putting undue pressure on them.
Should we create such a difficult situation in front of the wives of martyrs? The rules made at present have been made on the basis of past experiences. How can it be justified to deny the rights of the children of martyrs and give jobs to other relatives? What will happen to the children of martyrs when they become adults,” reasons Gehlot.
On installing third statue of Hemraj Meena, Gehlot said that the government has already installed two statutes of the martyr.
“Such a demand of installing another statue is not appropriate keeping in view other martyr families,” the chief minister said in the statement in Hindi.
Rajasthan Martyrs' package unmatched in the country
Gehlot said that Rajasthan government had released Kargil package in for the martyrs of Kargil war in1999 during his first tenure.
“We have been revising this package from time to time to make it better and more effective,” he said.
As per the provisions of the package, the widow of the martyr gets a cash compensation of Rs 25 lakh and 25 bigha agriculture land or house in a housing board colony. If the widow doesn't want land or house, she is entitled for additional cash compensation of Rs 25 lakh. Apart from that, parents of the martyr gets a fixed deposit of Rs 5 lakh under monthly income scheme. Under the package, widow of martyr or one of her children is also entitled for a job in state government. The government has also provisioned that if widow is pregnant during the martyrdom and she doesn't want a job for her, the government will reserve the job for her child when s/he grows us.
Apart from that, the package also has a provision to christen a public place in the name of the martyr.
The BuckStopper, run by a group of seasoned journalists, holds the powerful accountable. The buck stops with them, as they cannot shrug off their official responsibilities.
