Rahul Gandhi, while addressing a rally at Kangra, Himachal Pradesh claimed that paramilitary forces do not get the status of martyrs. He said that when his government comes to power, he will ensure that whenever someone gets martyred in the line of duty, he will get the status of a martyr.
Rahul Gandhi in Kangra, HP: It’s is sad when someone from paramilitaries is martyred they don’t get the status of a martyr. It shouldn’t be that only CRPF or BSF aren’t given the status.When our govt comes, if a personnel is martyred in line of duty, he’ll get status of a martyr. pic.twitter.com/ReikPsYNul
— ANI (@ANI) March 7, 2019
As it turns out, the Congress President is spreading misinformation once again. According to the official stand of the Government on the matter, the term ‘martyr’ is not an official designation for any of the Armed Forces.
The word ‘martyr’ may be used in everyday usage to describe soldiers who sacrifice their lives in the line of duty, however, it is not an official designation in the books of the government
The stand was again reiterated in response to an RTI query in 2017.
Thus, it’s clear that the term ‘martyr’ although used abundantly to describe soldiers who have sacrificed their lives for the country, it is not an official term. Under such circumstances, it is highly deplorable that Rahul Gandhi is using the sacrifice of Indian paramilitary troops for political gains.
Not too long ago, propagandists in the mainstream media had peddled the same narrative as well. That the Congress President is echoing a false narrative conjured by the mainstream media perhaps where he is receiving his coaching from.
