BJP State Spokesperson Prof. Virender Gupta expressed his anguish on the fact that the State government has shown little concern about the families of martyrs who have sacrificed their lives in defending the country and in fighting against the terrorists and engaged in Pakistan sponsored insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir. He said that it is a sad commentary that Uri martyr Havaldar Ravi Pal’s wife Mrs. Geeta has been subjected to apathetic attitude of the bureaucrats and the politicians while approaching for ex-gratia and compensation to which martyr’s family is entitled. He said that about 8 months have passed when in 2016 the Uri attack has happened, but none of the bereaved families have so far received any single penny from the government.
He stated that through the BJP on its own has provided an ex-gratia payment of 5 lakh to each of the two families of the martyrs Havildar Ravi Pal and Subedar Karnail Singh, but the state government so far has not taken any decision about the ex-gratia payment to the families of the martyrs.
Prof. Virender Gupta said that various states have released the relief to the families of martyrs amounting to Rs. 10 lakh to 20 lakh, but J&K government remained indifferent about the issue. He added that Jammu and Kashmir soldiers who lay down their lives in any part of the country for defending the honour and integrity of the country, their families are given relief / compensation by the concerned state where they are killed.
The Spokesperson questioned the policy of the state government which provides relief to the families of the terrorists engaged in anti-national activities and in staging a war against the country at the behest of foreign agencies and cause disturbances and its apathy towards the families of martyrs. “Is it because that they belong to Jammu region and are serving in the Indian defence services and were countering the attacks of terrorists for whom some politicians of the Valley have sympathetic attitude”, he asked.
