After lying about the Agnipath scheme in Parliament, Rahul Gandhi took his lies one step ahead today and claimed that the family of Agniveer Ajay Kumar, who lost his life in Kashmir, has not received any compensation from the central govt. However, soon the Indian Army clarified that the family has already been paid ₹98.39 lakh, and approximately ₹67 lakh more will be paid after due process, taking total amount to ₹1.65 crore.
Later in the day, Ajay Kumar’s father and other family members also clarified that they had already received ₹98.39 lakh. After the lies of Rahul Gandhi were busted, now the Congress party has taken a hilarious turn. In a press conference held to address the issue, the party accused the government of making more payments to the deceased Agniveer’s family compared to the promised amount.
The claim was made by Congress leader Col. Rohit Chaudhary, Chairman of the Ex-Servicemen Department after a reporter pointed out that Ajay Kumar’s family is getting ₹1.65 crore in total, out of which over ₹98 lakh has already been paid. Responding to this, Col. Rohit Chaudhary accused the Modi government of hiding behind the Indian Army, for the tweet by the Indian Army’s Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADGPI) clarifying the payments made.
He said that the Army should clarify how an insurance amount of ₹98 lakh has been paid when the policy mentions an insurance coverage of ₹50 lakh. Citing the Agnipath scheme, Col. Chaudhary said that as per the scheme, Ajay Kumar’s family should receive a total of ₹1 crore only, which includes ₹48 lakh insurance, ₹44 lakh one-time ex-gratia, full salary up to 4 years for unserved period, balance accumulated in Seva Nidhi fund, and ₹8 lakh from battle casualty fund.
‘When the policy says that Agniveer’s family will receive ₹1 crore, how this ₹1 crore became ₹1.67 crore, govt must answer’, Col. Rohit Chaudhary said. He added that in armed forces even a rupee can’t be paid extra, and govt is paying ₹67 lakh to Ajay Kumar’s kins.
Here the Congress leader made wrong calculations, because the ₹1 crore only includes ₹48 lakh insurance, ₹44 lakh ex-gratia and ₹8 lakh from the battle casualty fund. The other amounts like unpaid salary and Seva Nidhi Fund will be different for each individual, and those amounts are additional to the ₹1 crore amount.
It is notable that Ajay Kumar’s family has received three different amounts so far, ₹48 lakh from the Agniveer Pay accounts office towards insurance cover, another group insurance of ₹50 lakh from ICICI, and ₹39,000 from army.
He also questioned whether govt is adding any amount being paid by private organisations like insurance companies. Col. Rohit Chaudhary tried to insinuate that the insurance amount of ₹50 lakh received by the family was paid by the insurance company in its own capacity, and the govt can’t take credit for it. He also questioned why this ₹50 lakh insurance is not mentioned in the Agnipath scheme.
It is true that while the ₹48 lakh insurance is mentioned in the Agnipath scheme, the ₹50 lakh insurance is not. That is because, the ₹50 lakh insurance is available for all defence personnel, not just Agniveers.
The three armed services have a joint package with several banks including SBI, HDFC, ICICI etc, where the salary accounts of the personnel are maintained. The zero balance salary accounts include several other benefits, which include Complimentary Personal Accidental Insurance (Death) cover of ₹50 Lakhs to all ranks. The same scheme includes ₹1 crore cover for air accidental death, and up to ₹50 lakh cover for disabilities.
Therefore, the ₹50 lakh paid to Ajay Kumar’s family was given under this scheme, it was not paid by ICICI bank on its own like the Congress party is claiming. Insurance companies pay insurance covers from premiums received. And in the case of Agnipath scheme, the armed personnel are not paying any premium, the govt is paying all the premiums for all the group insurance schemes.
Therefore, it is wrong to claim that ICICI paid ₹50 lakh to Ajay Kumar’s family from its own fund. It was paid as part of the MoU ICICI bank has signed with the government of India.
