Gujarat Govt Hikes Financial Help To Martyr's Kin From One Lakh To One Cr

In poll-bound Gujarat, the state administration has proposed a massive increase in compensation for the families of fallen troops. The compensation paid to the widow or family of a soldier killed in the line of duty has been doubled from 1 lakh to 1 crore, according to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.

The statement came hours after 500 ex-servicemen from Gujarat rallied in Gandhinagar in the morning to protest their long-pending requests, which included increased compensation for families of fallen troops. Furthermore, the financial incentive for the winner of the highest military medal, the Param Vir Chakra, has been increased from 22,500 to 1 crore, while an Ashok Chakra awardee would receive 1 crore from the state government instead of 20,000.

The Aam Aadmi Party reacted angrily when the BJP-led government announced the compensation. The AAP, which is aggressively campaigning in the state for the Gujarat elections, claimed the state government's action came only days after he made a similar pledge to the protesting ex-servicemen during his two-month tour to the state. Arvind Kejriwal requested that the Gujarat government cover the martyred police officers in the same way that he did in Delhi.

He also requested that the Gujarat government provide compensation to the families of troops killed in the state in the previous five years "to demonstrate to the people that the administration is actually willing to do so and not simply because the Assembly elections are coming up." "If the state administration fails to do so," Kejriwal stated, "we will begin paying after establishing a government."