The State Government should consider increasing the pension of freedom fighters and their dependents which have not been increased an iota since the year 2016. This was stated by former chief minister of Uttarakhand and General Secretary of All India Congress Committee (AICC), Harish Rawat, on the sixth death anniversary of late Rajya Sabha MP, Manorama Dobriyal Sharma. This event was organised by the Manorama Dobriyal Sharma Memorial Foundation. In this event which was attended by the dependents and family members of freedom fighters, Rawat said that freedom fighters has contributed immensely to India and its democracy and their successors should also raise their voice against anti-democratic elements and incidents around them.
Moreover, Bhadra Sen Negi, the General Secretary of Uttarakhand Freedom Fighters and Dependents Association stated in the event that the State Government has not increased their pension under Kutumbh Pension Yojana from Rs 4,000 since October, 2016 which has been increased several times in other states. On this, Rawat said that he had initiated this pension with Rs 4,000 around five years back as the government did not have enough budget at that time. However, the current government should have increased the pension to at least Rs 10,000 before their exit from the government the next year, stated Rawat. He also expressed his disappointment stating that people are forgetting the value of freedom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi and put him at the same level as that of the other politicians. He said, the portraits of Mahatma Gandhi have disappeared from various institutes in the last few years while some of them have installed the portrait of politician Deendayal Upadhyaya right next to Mahatma Gandhi which disheartens him. Meanwhile, remembering late Manorama Dobriyal, Rawat said that she worked hard for the development of Uttarakhand and will always be missed by all.
Friday, 19 February 2021 | PNS | Dehradun
