The Lieutenant Governor raised objections to the decision of the Delhi Cabinet that had granted martyr status to Grewal
The Aam Aadmi Party government targeted Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Thursday for rejecting Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's populist decision to give Rs 1 crore compensation to the family of ex-serviceman Ram Kishen Grewal, who committed suicide over the One Rank One Pension (OROP) issue last year.
The Lieutenant Governor raised objections to the decision of the Delhi Cabinet that had granted martyr status to Grewal. The Army serviceman had committed suicide in the national capital demanding the immediate implementation of OROP.
The AAP government alleged that the Lieutenant Governor turned down the proposal by saying it is not in line with the compensation policy to provide ex-gratia to servicemen. Delhi Minister for Water, Tourism, Culture, Arts and Languages and Gurudwara Elections Kapil Mishra accused the Centre of playing politics through the Lieutenant Governor.
"We are trying to give compensation to the grieved family of an ex-soldier and the reasons being put forward to oppose this decision are wrong…. When sportspersons/ players come with medals, the government rewards them, but when a soldier died fighting for his rights why the government is not extending a helping hand? This is for the first time that a government is trying to cease help to a soldier's family. The issue is being politicised by the Central government," said Kapil Mishra.
However, there is another side to the story. In his note to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Baijal said that as mentioned in the Cabinet decision, Grewal had consumed poison on November 1, 2016 during a protest for the implementation of OROP. "This specific case does not fall within the parameters of the scheme for grant of ex-gratia payment i.e death occurring in the discharge of official duty. Therefore, while I fully sympathise with the family of Subedar (Retd) Late Ram Kishen Grewal, I'm not able to agree to the proposal for payment of ex-gratia relief in this case," Baijal said in the note.
He also said the position was also explained to the chief minister during his meeting with him earlier this month.
The Lieutenant Governor also explained in his note that as per the existing scheme, ex-gratia payment is made in cases of Defence/para-military/Delhi Police/Home Guard/Civil Defence/Delhi Fire Service personnel dying in discharge of bonafide official duty.
"They have to be either working for Delhi government or Delhi Police or have permanent address recorded at the time of joining service as Delhi in case of Defence/para-Military personnel," Baijal explained.
In 2016, the High Court had issued a stay order on the AAP government's decision to offer Rs 1 crore and a job to the next of kin of Grewal. The court's order was based on a public interest litigation filed by advocate Avadh Kaushik that challenged the Kejriwal administration's decision
The AAP government had defended its decision and said that this was a "policy matter" that was under the domain of government policy and needed to be sent to then Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung for approval.
Grewal had consumed poison at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on October 1, where he had been protesting against the government allegedly going back on its word to implement the proposal. Immediately after the incident, Kejriwal had announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore for Grewal's family.
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