Raja seeks intervention by defence ministry in granting of educational concessions to children of the soldiers

Updated on: Monday, April 22, 2013

CPI National Secretary D Raja has sought Defence Minister A K Antony's intervention in the granting of educational concessions to children of killed, permanently disbaled and missing soldiers and alleged his ministry was "further delaying" the matter by sending it to the Finance Ministry.

In a letter to Antony, Raja said this was happening despite an assurance given to him by the Defence Minister on the floor of the House an year ago.

"I am sorry to inform you that despite your assurance almost a year ago, the MoD has not taken action to revisit the said order. On my inquiry, it is understood that the Defence Finance Wing has referred the case a second time to the Finance Ministry to further delay the decision on the assurance given by the Defence Minister," Raja said.

Raja had in May last year raised the issue in Parliament.

The Left leader said the scheme was announced in 1971 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and its budget allocation comes from the Defence Minstry and was never referred to the Finance Ministry.

But in 2010, the ESW Department of MoD issued an order wherein they inserted two child restriction on application only for claiming the children education allowance by serving government employees, he said.

"It is sad that the soldiers who die fighting for the country leave behind widows to fight another enemy in the bureaucracy.

"Attempts to marginalise them and delaying a concession which was in vogue since 1971 due to bureaucratic insistence despite an assurance by none other than the Defence Minister reflects very sadly on the existing state of affairs and respect for our dead soldiers in our bureaucracy," the letter said.

Raja seeks intervention by defence ministry in granting of educational concessions to children of the soldiers

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