Congress to raise issue of Army men in poll-bound states

After the farmers' issue, Congress is now going to raise the rights of Army personnel in the upcoming state Assembly polls.

On January 28, Congress leaders including Randeep Singh Surjewala, Devendra Yadav, and Mohan Prakash will hold a press conference to raise the issue of the rights of army personnel in Dehradun. While DK Shivkumar will hold a press conference in Goa, Harish Rawat will hold a similar event in Haldwani and Sachin Pilot in Chandigarh. Captain Davar will hold a conference at Almora. Further, former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan will hold a press conference in Lucknow and Deependra Hooda in Meerut. In Varanasi, Congress leaders Vijender Singh and Supriya Srinet will hold similar press conferences.

Pranav Jha, secretary in charge of communication, Congress toldthat the strategy of the party is to raise the army issue in the elections. Congress is also launching a booklet - "Vote in the name of bravery - injury to the interests of the army".

Jha said that the BJP government is sacrificing the bravery of the Indian Army for its political interest.

He said that 1,22,555 posts are vacant in the Army.

"In the name of 'One Rank, One Pension', the BJP government is cheating 30 lakh ex-servicemen. The Centre imposed a tax on the 'disability pension' of soldiers. In the Seventh Pay Commission, the BJP government, in addition to turning its back on the army, discriminated against the civilian employees, hurting the rehabilitation and employment of ex-servicemen and weakening the military power. Issues like these will also be raised prominently," Jha said.

( With inputs from ANI )