A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated Diwali with army jawans, BSP chief Mayawati on Monday said the premier should have celebrated the festival with family members of the soldiers who laid down their lives.
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said it would have been better if the PM had invited family members of the jawans to the national capital and celebrated Diwali with them collectively. Ms. Mayawati said Mr. Modi could have extended ex-gratia compensation and other facilities to the relatives of the martyred jawans and tried to “wipe their tears.”
“But he did not do this act of humanity, even though the soldiers with whom he shared sweets and celebrated Diwali with would have also been pleased,” Ms. Mayawati said.
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She has been highly critical of the BJP’s stance towards the army, accusing the party of politicising the surgical strikes along the Line of Control by making references to it in their election rallies in Uttar Pradesh.
Using mild language, Ms. Mayawati said the daily lives of the soldiers need to be improved as well, through a concrete and long-term policy Ms. Mayawati pitched for better treatment of family members of the jawans, urging the government to become more “sensitive” towards them and make necessary changes to policies. “It is often seen that the family members of the brave martrys do not get their legitimate facilities on time due to red-tapism,” Ms. Mayawati said.