Recently, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi faced embarrassment after his claims about compensation for the families of fallen Agniveers were fact-checked by the Bhartiya Army. On Wednesday (3 July) night, the Army clarified that Agniveer Ajay Kumar’s family has already received Rs 98.39 lakh in compensation.
This statement came shortly after Rahul Gandhi accused Defence Minister Rajnath Singh of lying to Parliament about paying Rs 1 crore to the family. The Army’s post on X (formerly Twitter) stated that social media posts suggested no compensation was paid to Ajay Kumar’s family, but this was not true.
The Army acknowledged Ajay Kumar’s brave sacrifice and confirmed his last rites were performed with full military honours. They clarified that Rs 98.39 lakh had been paid to the family out of the total compensation. An additional Rs 67 lakh, as per the Agniveer Scheme, will be paid after final account settlement and police verification. The total compensation will be approximately Rs 1.65 crore.
After this clarification, Rajnath Singh’s office shared the Army’s statement, emphasizing the Army’s commitment to the welfare of Agniveers. According to NDTV, the family received Rs 98 lakh at the end of June.
The Army’s statement came just two hours after Rahul Gandhi’s video message, where he claimed no compensation had been paid to Ajay Kumar’s family. Gandhi demanded that Rajnath Singh apologize to Parliament, the country, the Army and the family.
The Agnipath scheme, introduced in 2022, recruits personnel for short-term service to lower the age profile of the armed forces. These recruits are called Agniveers. In the same video, Ajay Kumar’s father stated that their family had not received compensation from the Central government, supporting Rahul Gandhi’s claims.
The Defence and Home Ministries have clarified that the term ‘martyr’ is not officially used. Families of Agniveers who die in service do not receive regular benefits like pensions.
On Monday, 3 July, Rajnath Singh objected to Rahul Gandhi’s remarks in Lok Sabha about the Agniveer scheme, stating that Rs 1 crore is given to the family of an Agniveer who dies in the line of duty or during a war.
