Modi government a ‘habitual offender’ in working against defence personnel, alleges Congress

The statement comes after the Centre released new rules for the grant of disability benefits to members of the armed forces. A welfare body has objected to it.

Sep 30, 2023 - 19:30

Modi government a ‘habitual offender’ in working against defence personnel, alleges Congress

The Narendra Modi government is a “habitual offender” in working against the welfare of armed forces personnel and veterans, the Congress alleged on Saturday.

The statement came after the Centre released new rules for the grant of disability benefits to members of the armed forces. The “Entitlement Rules for Casualty Pension and Disability Compensation Awards to Armed Forces Personnel, 2023, significantly change the definition of pension, eligibility criteria and quantum of compensation.

The All India Ex-Servicemen Welfare Association has said that the new rules violate the law as well as Supreme Court judgements, reported The Indian Express. Bhim Sen Sehgal, the chairperson of the association, said that the new rules place soldiers at a disadvantage when compared to civilian employees.

“The definition of invalidation has also been changed in a regressive manner and it has been reiterated that there would be a requirement of ten years of service to earn an Invalid Pension,” said Sehgal. “This requirement was already abrogated for civilian employees in January 2019.”

He also said that heart disease shall now be considered linked to service only if it occurs in high altitude areas. The older rules stated that all heart disease were linked with stress and strain of service without any preconditions.

Sehgal added that that the officer trainees and cadets not...