The BJP state unit of West Bengal, on Thursday, lambasted Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for giving only Rs 2 lakh compensation to each of the army jawans from Bengal who died in the Uri attack last week. The party made reference to her doling out Rs 10 lakh for each person who died in the Hajj stampede.
“Please show some respect to the families of the martyrs. Vote bank politics does not work in the armed forces,” BJP state Vice President Chandra Bose said on Thursday.
Earlier Bihar government, led by Nitish Kumar, had decided to give Rs 5 lakh to the Uri martyrs' families. But amid lot of criticism, the amount was upped to Rs 11 lakh.
But in Bengal, there has been no such confirmation that the compensation would be increased.
“CM is presently touring North Bengal. She has not asked us to increase the compensation so far. We have already drawn up the cheque,” an officer from the Home Department told THE WEEK.
Holding a meeting at its Kolkata office, BJP slammed Mamata for her Muslim appeasement policy.
“Just imagine, she has not even visited to the martyrs' families. She has time to meet film stars whenever they call her. But she never bothered to meet dead soldiers’ families when their bodies came,” said a BJP state general secretary.
Biswajit Ghorai and Gangaram Doloi, two jawans of Dogra regiment who hailed from Bengal, were killed in the attacks last week. They are from Howrah and South 24 Parganas districts, which are close to Kolkata. Mamata condemned the attack, but only sent her cabinet minister Arup Biswas to the homes of the martyrs.
