Six people, including one of the organisers, have been arrested in a satsang or prayer meeting that ended in a deadly stampede in Uttar Pradesh. 

Adopting a tit-for-tat strategy to counter the BJP’s offensive in Parliament, the Congress has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, flagging “inaccuracies” in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address replying to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address.

The main Opposition has also flagged Hamirpur MP and former Union minister Anurag Thakur’s speech in Lok Sabha.

The Congress’s move comes after the uproar over Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s address in Lok Sabha. Several portions of the speech were expunged and the BJP submitted a notice against the inaccuracies. Commenting on the notice by BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said any member trying to mislead the House won’t get away easily and “rules will get them”.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore has written to the Speaker, requesting that Direction 115(1) be invoked. The direction states: “A member wishing to point out any mistake or inaccuracy in a statement made by a Minister or any other member shall, before referring to the matter in the House, write to the Speaker pointing out the particulars of the mistake or inaccuracy and seek the permission of the speaker to raise the matter in the House.”

“In view of foregoing as per procedural norms, therefore, request you take note of the factually incorrect, inaccurate and misleading statements made by Prime Minister and Shri Anurag Thakur requisite proceedings be initiated and appropriate action be taken in this regard,” Mr Tagore has said.

Among the parts of Mr Thakur the Congress has flagged are his claims that the Indian forces did not have fighter jets and adequate weaponry before the BJP came to power in 2014. “We had Jaguar, Mig 29, SU-30, Mirage 2000. We had nuclear bomb, missiles like Agni, Prithvi , Aakash, Nag, Trishul and later Brahmos,” the Congress MP has pointed out.

He has also challenged the government’s claim that 25 crore people have been brought over the poverty line in the past 10 years.

In the Prime Minister’s speech, the Congress MP has said he had inaccurately claimed that the Congress’s vote share went down in 16 states where it contested alone. “This is factually incorrect. Congress vote share increased in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Telangana etc,” he has said. On the Prime Minister’s charge that the Congress made a “false promise” of giving Rs 8,500 a month to women, the Congress MP said, “It was a promise (to be fulfilled) on victory and government formation.”

The Congress MP’s letter to counter the BJP move suggests that Parliament sessions are likely to see disruptions going forward as an Opposition upbeat after its good show in this election goes all-out to counter the BJP, which finished below majority mark this time and had to reply on its allies to form the government.

The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have been adjourned after the President’s address and the debate thereafter. Both Houses saw spirited protests by the Opposition, including a walkout in Rajya Sabha during the Prime Minister’s address. The Parliament is expected to reconvene in the third week of July ahead of the Union Budget.

The family of Agniveer Ajay Kumar has demanded the ‘hero’ status for him from the Indian Army after he died in the line of duty. The family said that the compensation money cannot replace Ajay Kumar.

“We want the Agniveer scheme to be scrapped and we should get pension and canteen card,” his father told NDTV.

The sentiments were echoed by Kumar’s sister, who expressed concerns about the adequacy of the compensation provided. “My brother lost his life for a job of four years. While the government promises Rs 1 crore, can a family survive solely on that amount without him?” she questioned, calling for a reevaluation of the Agniveer scheme.

“Government has given us money, but we want them to shut down the scheme,” she said.  

Launched in 2022, the Agnipath scheme was designed to recruit personnel for short-term service in the armed forces, aimed at reducing the age profile across the services. Known as Agniveers, these individuals do not currently qualify for regular benefits such as pension for their families in the event of their death in service.

The issue has sparked broader discussions, with a parliamentary panel earlier recommending that families of Agniveers who die in the line of duty should receive benefits equivalent to those provided to families of regular military personnel.

He also said that while the family has received Rs 98 lakhs, only Rs 48 lakhs have come from the Army. This is in contrast with the Army’s statement that the family has been paid Rs 98.39 lakhs of the total amount due.

In a late-night statement on Wednesday, the Army refuted claims circulating on social media that the family had not received the promised compensation. They confirmed that a total of Rs 98.39 lakh had indeed been disbursed to Agniveer Ajay Kumar’s family.

“It is emphasised that the Indian Army salutes the supreme sacrifice made by Agniveer Ajay Kumar. Of the total amount due, the family of Agniveer Ajay has already been paid Rs 98.39 lakhs. Ex-Gratia and other benefits amounting to approximately 67 lakhs, as applicable according to the provisions of the Agniveer Scheme, will be paid on Final Account Settlement shortly post Police verification. The total amount will be Rs 1.65 Cr approximately,” the army said in a statement.

*CLARIFICATION ON EMOLUMENTS TO AGNIVEER AJAY KUMAR*

Certain posts on Social Media have brought out that compensation hasn’t been paid to the Next of Kin of Agniveer Ajay Kumar who lost his life in the line of duty.

It is emphasised that the Indian Army salutes the supreme… pic.twitter.com/yMl9QhIbGM

— ADG PI – INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) July 3, 2024

The family, accepting that they have received the amount mentioned, said that Rs 50 lakh was from an insurance policy.

“First, we got 50 lakh insurance money from the ICICI bank. Then we got 48 lakh rupees from the army. We haven’t received the full amount yet. The Army has told us that they will give us 60 lakh rupees more. We haven’t received that money yet though. Don’t know when we will get it,” he said.