Vehicle surrounded by police': Cops stop Kejriwal from meeting veteran's kin
New Delhi: Minutes after Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi’s detention on Wednesday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that he was being prevented from meeting the family of ex-serviceman Ram Kishan Grewal, who allegedly committed suicide over the delay in implementation of the One Rank, One Pension (OROP) scheme.
70-year-old Grewal, an ex-serviceman from Haryana's Bhiwani district, ended his life yesterday by allegedly consuming poison on the lawns behind a government building in Janpath, the central area of the capital.
Kejriwal tweeted that he spoke to Grewal’s son, who said that he was being being ‘manhandled’ at Mandir Marg Police Station. Hours earlier, Kejriwal’s deputy, Manish Sisodia, had also not been allowed to meet with Grewal's family.
Rahul was also not allowed to meet Grewal's family at the RML Hospital in the national capital. He was stopped by the security personnel deployed at the entrance gate. Gandhi was then briefly detained for 70-minutes in the afternoon.
However, in the evening Rahul Gandhi was again detained by the Delhi Police as he attempted to meet Grewal’s family yet against.
Sisodia and AAP MLA Surinder Singh were also detained at the RML Hospital after Sisodia met Grewal’s family.
"Rahul Gandhi was detained at Mandir Marg Police Station for 'disruption of duty' after he tried to enter RML premises to meet the family of the ex-serviceman," Senior police officer MK Meena said.
Meena added that 'this is a hospital, not a place for demonstration,' stating that AAP leaders who were 'creating disturbance' were also detained.
He claimed that the family members of the deceased were protesting at the site and contacting politicians, following which they too were held.
Earlier, Sisodia managed to enter the hospital premises and meet the family members of the deceased, before being detained by police. Eyewitnesses said Sisodia could enter the premises as he came in a civilian car, which went undetected by the security.
Earlier in the day, Kejriwal lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that he was lying on the 'One rank, One Pension' issue. "The Prime Minister says OROP has been implemented, and soldiers are dying demanding it to be implemented. It means the PM is lying across the country.”
"Then why did he commit suicide? The Centre is deceiving the army. I have come to meet his family. If anyone commits suicide in my state, should I not meet the family?”
"BJP is doing politics. They have detained the Deputy CM. We will have to postpone the Cabinet meeting. Why? Because the Centre has resorted to hooliganism," Kejriwal told reporters outside the hospital.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while celebrating the Diwali with the army and ITBP personnel in Kinnaur, had said that the first instalment of nearly Rs 5,500 crore has been paid for implementing the OROP scheme.
OROP scheme has been a long-standing demand of nearly three-million ex-servicemen and war widows in the country. It seeks to ensure that a uniform pension is paid to defence personnel, who retire at the same rank with the same length of service irrespective of their date of retirement.
