 "Ex-serviceman's suicide: Army, OROP, suicide and two days of intense politicking")
Over the past two days, leaders from both Aam Aadmi Party and Congress first made a beeline at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and then at Bamla village in Haryana’s Bhiwani district to meet the family of ex-serviceman Ram Kishan Grewal, who committed suicide over the ‘One Rank One Pension’ (OROP) on Tuesday.
Leading the Congress was party vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who was detained thrice in two days and released after a few hours on each occasion. The national capital became witness to some high-voltage drama as Gandhi and his party took these opportunities to hit out at the Narendra Modi government, saying “power has gone to their head”.
On Thursday, the Delhi Police picked up Gandhi from Jantar Mantar to prevent him from leading a candlelight march over the suicide of Grewal. Around 7 pm, Gandhi was whisked off by the police, first to 5, Firoz Shah Road, and later to the Tughlak Road police station, where he was kept for over an hour.
Speaking to reporters after his release, Gandhi claimed the police refused to lodge his complaint about his detention. "If the police refuse to accept the complaint of an MP, imagine the plight of the common man. How will they accept their complaints? Yeh Modi ji ka naya Hindustan hai (This is the new India of Mr Modi)," Gandhi said.
On their part, the police claimed Gandhi refused to get off the police vehicle at Firoz Shah Road, so they were forced to take him to the Tughlak Road police station.
"Rahul Gandhi was detained at Tolstoy Marg when he continued his candlelight march towards India Gate, in spite of repeated requests not to proceed. He, along with other leaders, was brought to the Tuglak Road police station, and released," the police said in a statement.
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At Firoz Shah Road, Gandhi said: "I have only one thing to say; the way the family (of Grewal) was treated was wrong and it might affect the morale of the Army. The police should at least apologise to the family. The prime minister should apologise to the family, accept what he did was wrong, and deliver on OROP.
"The prime minister should act on the 7th pay commission. He lied that OROP had been implemented. That’s why the gentleman killed himself. His family was disrespected and humiliated," he said.
Also among the mourners at Grewal’s native village, where he was cremated on Thursday, was Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The Delhi CM announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore to Grewal’s family.
On Wednesday, Kejriwal had also been detained by the police, hours after his deputy Manish Sisodia was taken into custody for trying to meet the family of Grewal.
His detention outside Lady Hardinge hospital in central Delhi around 7.45 pm came after Gandhi was taken into custody for a second time during the day, in an unprecedented clampdown on Opposition leaders.
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia was detained for nearly 10 hours from around 1 pm at the Parliament Street police station.
There was no let-up in political bickering over the suicide on the issue of OROP, with Union Minister VK Singh saying Grewal was a Congress worker. The previous day, he had raised questions about the "mental state" of the 70-year-old ex-serviceman.
Congress leader Raj Babbar slammed the former Army chief for his remarks, while one of Grewal’s sons clarified his father had not contested the panchayat election on a Congress ticket.
Singh had landed himself in a controversy when he had said the "mental state" of Grewal needed to be probed before drawing conclusions about his extreme action.
"He has committed suicide. No one knows the reason behind it. OROP is being shown as the reason. We do not know what his mental state was. Let that be probed first. OROP should be kept above politics," Singh had said.
The Shiv Sena, an ally of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, and the Communist Party of India slammed the government for preventing Gandhi to take part in the candlelight march, saying the “high-handed” action of the police was "unacceptable".
The Left party maintained that being the vice-president of one of the largest political parties and an elected representatives, Gandhi had "all the right" to express his solidarity with the family of the ex-serviceman, as India "is still a democratic country".
"He is a minister and had formerly been an Army chief. How can he make such a bizarre and atrocious statement? The government has ignored the core issues related to OROP. So, who should be held responsible for the death of Grewal?" CPI leader D Raja asked.
The Congress also found support in the Sena, which hit out at the Delhi Police over the detention of Gandhi, terming it "shameful".
"Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia should not have been stopped from visiting the aggrieved family of a retired soldier who allegedly committed suicide over the (OROP) issue," Sena spokesperson Arvind Sawant said.
"What kind of an attitude is this? The action of the Delhi Police is condemnable and shameful," said Sawant.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju accused both Gandhi and Kejriwal of indulging in vote-bank politics, saying people were tired of their "dramas".
Rijiju said the Narendra Modi government was committed to the cause of soldiers and the honour of martyrs.
"Please don't compete to be better dramebaaz? Soldiers’ issue is too serious. We live closely with soldiers. What do you know about soldier's life?" Rijiju said.
Grewal, along with some other ex-servicemen, was in the process of submitting a memorandum to the Defence Ministry over the issue of OROP.
According to his friends, Grewal had been upset over the issue for some time. Grewal had gone to Delhi with three of his friends from Bhiwani on the intervening night of October 31 and November 1. On Tuesday evening, he allegedly consumed poison and ended his life.