Congress Deprived Families of Soldiers from 'One Rank One Pension', Says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday criticised the Congress for keeping the retired armed forces personnel deprived of the 'One Rank One Pension' scheme for many years, saying the party only showed the Rs 500 crore "jhunjhuna" (rattle).

"The Congress has a mastery of misleading and speaking lies. It ruled the country for 60 years but the Constitution of B.R. Ambedkar was not applied in Jammu and Kashmir. We did it. Modi abrogated Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir," PM Modi said while speaking at a rally to campaign for BJP nominee Udayanraje Bhosale who is contesting against NCP (SP) candidate Shashikant Shinde.

"Modi has guaranteed 'One Rank One Pension' to the families of soldiers and fulfilled this guarantee. How can anyone forget that for 40 years, Congress deprived the families of soldiers from the 'One Rank One Pension' scheme? They used to say that they will bring this scheme by only making an announcement of Rs 500 crore.

"The Congress has a mastery of lying. The BJP government has released more than Rs 1 lakh crore under the 'One Rank One Pension' scheme to the ex-servicemen," PM Modi said.

Stepping up the attack against Congress, PM Modi further said: "The country became Independent in 1947. The Congress allowed slavery mentality to flourish. Today the whole world respects the armour of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Even today, across the world, when the subject of the Navy comes up, the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is mentioned. But for so many years, Independent India had British footprints in its Navy. The NDA government removed the footprints of the British.

"The land of Satara is the land of bravery. Today, whether it is a Military Apshinge village or any soldier family of Satara, they are most happy to see a self-reliant Indian Army. Our army today has more than one Indian-made weapon. Now you tell me, will those whose shops were closed by Modi be happy? Will the middlemen who think the Congress government is very good will praise Modi?" PM Modi wondered while addressing the rally.