Guj: Ex-servicemen take out rally, demand hike in martyr compensation, jobs for kin

A similar protest rally had been held in January 2020 when Vijay Rupani was chief minister.One of their 14 demands was that the state government should pay Rs 1 crore, instead of Rs 1 lakh that is paid now, as compensation to the kin of soldiers who died in the line of duty.The union also demanded pension for the family and government job to one member of the family of each martyr.It also wanted strict implementation of reservations in government jobs from class 1 to 4 for retired army personnel.

Hundreds of ex-servicemen from Gujarat and their family members took out a rally from Ahmedabad to Gandhinagar on Monday to press their long-pending demands including higher compensation for the families of martyred solders.

At the culmination of the rally in Gandhinagar, representatives of the Gujarat Ex Armymen Union met Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, said the union's president Jitendra Nimavat.

''The chief minister told us that he along with chief secretary Pankaj Kumar will once again meet five representatives of our union next Monday to find an amicable solution,'' he said.

The ex-servicemen gathered at Shahid Smarak in Shahibaug area here, and took out a vehicle rally to the state secretariat complex in Gandhinagar. A similar protest rally had been held in January 2020 when Vijay Rupani was chief minister.

One of their 14 demands was that the state government should pay Rs 1 crore, instead of Rs 1 lakh that is paid now, as compensation to the kin of soldiers who died in the line of duty.

The union also demanded pension for the family and government job to one member of the family of each martyr.

It also wanted strict implementation of reservations in government jobs from class 1 to 4 for retired army personnel. Other demands included a martyrs' memorial in Gandhinagar, agricultural land to retired army men as per rules, priority while issuing or renewing gun license, removal of contract system in jobs offered to former armymen.

The ex-servicemen also demanded full waiver of professional tax, quota for their children in higher education and priority for their work in government offices.