The Bharatiya Janata Party president JP Nadda on Sunday said that only Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government cares about the Indian soldiers. Saying that only PM Modi thought of the concerns of the personnel of the Armed Forces, the BJP chief cited the "Military Dham" in Uttarakhand, and "One Rank, One Pension (OROP) scheme" to stress on the Central government's achievements.
"Only PM Modi's government has taken care of the soldiers of the country. The Military Dham is being built in Uttarakhand under the BJP government," Nadda said while addressing a public rally in Uttarkashi.
Reiterating the BJP government's commitment towards the Indian soldiers, he said that the long pending demand of the OROP was fulfilled by PM Modi soon after taking charge at the Centre.
"The demand of OROP was raised in 1971-72; today PM Modi ji has sanctioned Rs 42,000 crore for the homes of soldiers through the OROP. About 1.16 lakh soldiers of Uttarakhand are getting the benefits of the scheme," he said.
The BJP chief also said that the Centre has increased the compensation for the martyrs from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 15 lakh.
Slamming the Congress government for "stopping special budget benefit for the hill states," Nadda said, "As soon as Modi ji became Prime Minister of India in 2014, he put Uttarakhand, Himachal and hill states back to the list of special category states in the budget of 2014-15, and also provided special financial assistant." For the Gangotri Assembly constituency, the BJP has fielded Suresh Chauhan, and Vijaypal Singh Sajwan is in the fray from Congress, while Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has fielded its chief ministerial candidate Colonel Ajay Kothiyal.
Uttarakhand is scheduled for polls on February 14. The results will be announced on March 10.
