Rajasthan Soldier Welfare Minister Kalicharan Saraf is facing flak for his remarks on the Congress leaders who attended the cremation of Uri attack martyr Havaldar Nimb Singh Rawat, with the Opposition party taking exception to his comment that Pradesh Congress president Sachin Pilot was an “idle man” with nothing much to do these days.
Defending himself and Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje for missing the cremation of Havaldar Rawat, who was killed in the terror attack in Uri on Sunday, Mr. Saraf had stirred a controversy with a statement that the government had several other works to attend to. On being asked about Mr. Pilot and other Congress leaders visiting the martyr's family and attending his cremation in his native village Rajwa, Mr. Saraf said: “He (Mr. Pilot) is an idle man these days. Good that he went there as he has no other work to do.”
PCC vice-president Archana Sharma said Mr. Saraf's remarks not only amounted to insult of a soldier's martyrdom but also depicted the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's “mental imbalance”. Ms. Sharma said the BJP leaders should have reached the cremation site in full strength to pay homage to the martyr instead of making a show of Jan Sunwai at the party headquarters in Jaipur.
Mr. Saraf, who had earlier stated that Ms. Raje had sent senior Cabinet Minister Kiran Maheshwari to represent the State government at the cremation, sought to downplay his remarks on Wednesday and accused the Congress of politicising the issue. “Since the Congress has no other issue to target the government, it is politicising the matter of cremation...They should remember that it was the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government which had started the practice of taking the bodies of martyrs to their native places for their last rites with full State honours,” said the Minister.
Healso announced a payment of Rs.20 lakh as financial assistance to Havaldar Rawat's wife Rodi Devi. Besides, a fixed deposit of Rs.3 lakh was being made in the name of the slain soldier's parents to provide them monthly income, he said.
