Cong using ex-soldier’s death for gains: Jaitley

NEW DELHI: Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Friday hit out at the Congress for allegedly politicising the suicide of a exArmy man, saying “a political party with sinking fortunes should not try to encash the personal tragedy of one person”.

Jaitley said the UPA government had done little to implement the one rank, one pension (OROP) scheme for exservicemen during its 10-year term which was evident from a “meagre” allocation of `550 crore for the scheme.

He said the government sympathised with the family of Ram Kishen Grewal but insisted that he was drawing pension under OROP. Jaitley indicated administrative lapse on the part of the bank for not remitting the pension he was entitled to.

“It obviously seems to be an administrative lapse. It is not a lapse where the OROP was not granted… Obviously, there seems to be some (communication) gap…He was given pension for one part of the service and not for other part which he was legitimately entitled to,” Jaitley said.

A political party with sinking fortunes should not try to encash the personal tragedy of one person.

ARUN JAITLEY,

Union finance minister

He attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for using OROP to score political brownie points.

“So the (Congress) sympathy that has arisen today is politically motivated and the NDA is the first government which has not only accepted OROP demand, but implemented it.”

Asked to comment on Union minister VK Singh describing Grewal as a Congress worker, he said, “Everybody has to be sensitive.”

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