Widows of Pulwama attack victims Rohitash Lamba, Jeetram Gurjar and Hemraj Meena during a protest against Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, in Jaipur, on March 9, 2023.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The Congress government in Rajasthan is facing heat over the demands raised by the widows of three Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, killed in the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, for naming roads and schools after their slain husbands and changing the norms for giving jobs to their family members. The Opposition BJP’s support to the three women has given a political twist to the issue.
The widows of the deceased CRPF jawans, Rohitash Lamba, Hemraj Meena, and Jeetram Gujjar, staged a prolonged dharna in Jaipur, first at Shaheed Smarak in the heart of the city and later outside the residence of Congress MLA Sachin Pilot. BJP MP Kirodi Lal Meena and a large number of party workers accompanied the three women at the dharna site.
Also read: Rajasthan CM Gehlot meets war widows as protest by Pulwama widows simmers
The protesting women were forcibly removed and sent to their homes last week. While the women alleged that the promises made to them after the death of their husbands were not fulfilled, their main demand pertained to a change in the rules to facilitate the appointment of any member from their families, and not just their children, to the government jobs on compassionate grounds.
The matter was raised in the State Assembly on Monday, when Deputy Leader of the Opposition Rajendra Rathore alleged that the Congress government was insensitive to the plight of widows of CRPF personnel who had sacrificed their lives. On Tuesday, Nagaur MP and Rahstriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) supremo Hanuman Beniwal raised the issue in the Lok Sabha and demanded the appointment of a high-power committee by the Home Ministry, which controls the para-military forces.
Also read: Congress insulting families of servicemen: BJP
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has criticised BJP leaders and accused them of misguiding the people and maligning the State’s image by creating an impression that nothing had been done for the widows. Mr. Gehlot said it would not be appropriate to give jobs to someone other than the children of the slain jawans.
Mr. Gehlot affirmed that the package given by the Rajasthan Government to the war widows, including those of Kargil in 1999, was the best in the country. As part of the package, the families were allotted land and housing, schools were named after the soldiers, and jobs were kept reserved for their children. The dependents of the CRPF personnel had already been helped in accordance with the package, Mr. Gehlot said.
A delegation of about a dozen war widows also met Mr. Gehlot on Saturday and extended support to the State government’s steps, while stating that they wanted jobs to be reserved for their children when they attained the age of majority. Some of the women who took part in the meeting termed the demands of Pulwama widows “wrong” and “against the rules”.
However, the three widows — Manju Lamba, Sundari Devi and Madhubala Meena — alleged that policemen had assaulted them when they went to the Chief Minister’s residence in an attempt to meet him. They also sought the intervention of Governor Kalraj Mishra to have their demands fulfilled.
