OROP suicide: VVIPs at ex-Army man's funeral, AAP govt gives Rs 1 cr to kin
New Delhi: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday headed to Haryana for the funeral of retired serviceman Ram Kishen Grewal, who committed suicide over non-payment of One Rank One Pension (OROP) on Tuesday.
Grewal's funeral is currently underway in his village in Bhiwani, a little over a 100 km from Delhi.
Meanwhile, facing flak for the way it handled the episode, the ruling BJP in Haryana announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the family of Ram Kishan Grewal and a job to one family member.
The AAP government in Delhi on the other hand announced that Rs 1 crore would be paid to the kith and kin.
Rahul Gandhi reached the village at 10:30 am. Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O’ Brien drove all night to reach Bhiwani early morning on Thursday.
Along with Rahul, Kamal Nath and some other Congress politicians have also travelled to Bhiwani.
Rahul walked to the cremation ground with the friends and relatives of Grewal.
Addressing the media, Congress leader Deependra Hooda said that the UPA had passed OROP that the Army sought, but the BJP diluted its provisions.
At Grewal’s residence in Bhiwani, O’ Brien said that, "If Rahul Gandhi or Kejriwal wanted to meet the family they should have been allowed."
He added that VK Singh's statement calling for a mental health examination of the deceased was 'sickening'.
The Delhi CM on the other hand tweeted that the Opposition was playing politics over the suicide (as alleged by BJP) because they wanted to give soldiers their rights.
Speaking to reporters later, he said the Prime Minister should also meet the family of the serviceman.
Son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Robert Vadra urged for a sincere probe into the suicide case of Grewal.
Vadra took to Facebook and expressed his grief over the demise of the ex-serviceman, who allegedly committed suicide over the delay of One Rank, One Pension (OROP) scheme.
The funeral of Ram Kishen Grewal underway in Bhiwani (Photo: Twitter/ANI)
"Saddened to learn of the suicide of ex-serviceman Ram Kishan Grewal. Being so desperate to end his life, and further the family being detained by authorities, and not being able to complete the last rights, really needs to be probed," said Vadra on Facebook.
The subedar, who served in the Army for 30 years, ate sulpha tablets on Tuesday afternoon in the lawns of a government building, and died in Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) hospital on Wednesday.
Forensic experts on Wednesday night conducted the postmortem of the body of Grewal. The body was sent to Lady Hardinge Hospital early this morning from RML Hospital.
His suicide caused Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal to make attempts to meet his family at Ram Manohar Lohia hospital on Wednesday. Both were detained -- Rahul twice -- before being let off. Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia was also kept in detention by the police, who refused to allow entry of political leaders into the hospital for 'safety reasons'.
