Mumbai: Freedom fighters who wish to get pension must give proof of their participation in the freedom struggle. A farmer in distress, who seeks a loan waiver, must provide extensive documentation. But for those jailed during the Emergency, all they have to do is submit an affidavit stating that they were in jail during this period on a Rs 100 stamp paper, to be eligible for pension. Shockingly, this is the latest policy decision of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena government.
The State government has already disbursed Rs 28-29 crore out of the budgeted Rs 42 crore, solely on the basis of such affidavits, the assembly was informed on Tuesday. The RSS, founded in 1925, has always faced criticism for not participating in the freedom struggle. In its defence, the RSS has always portrayed its defiance dur-ing the Emergency as the second freedom struggle and described its workers as saviours of democracy. The former deputy chief minister, Ajit Pawar, strongly objected to the way the pension is being sanctioned, merely on the basis of an affidavit. He appealed for a reconsideration of this procedure, questioning how pension could be given without proof and what was the guarantee the affidavit was genuine.
Pawar had a flurry of queries. "Does the government have the exact number of political prisoners during the Emergency? How many of them are alive today? How many of them are getting Rs.5,000 and Rs.10,000 as pension? How much does this pension scheme cost the state exchequer?” he asked. The minister of state for relief and rehabilitation, Madan Yerawar, said the applications had been scrutinised by a committee headed by the relevant district collector and only the genuine ones had been approved.
"A budget of Rs 42 crore was finalised for the pension scheme and, of this, Rs 28 crore to Rs 29 crore has been disbursed," he informed.
“A total of 3,267 applications for pension have been approved so far. Of these, 1,179 applications were approved on the basis of the undertaking given on Rs 100 stamp paper that the applicant had served a jail term during the Emergency,” he added. Addressing this query in the state assembly during Question Hour, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, "The pension was intended more as an honour for those who served jail terms during the Emergency. "Many people refused to accept it. But some continue to be poor, having lost jobs after being arrested for no fault of theirs," he noted.
Subhash Patil of the Peasants and Workers' Party wanted the pension amount to be increased to Rs 25,000. However, Fadnavis rejected the demand for an increase, for the time being. But he agreed to give a citation along with the pension. As per the government's decision, those who were imprisoned for a month during the Emergency will get a monthly pension of Rs 5,000 and those jailed for a longer duration will get Rs 10,000 per month. In the event that those imprisoned for a month or less during the Emergency have died, their kin would get a monthly pension of Rs 2,500 while the kin of those who were imprisoned for a month or more during the period will get Rs 5,000 per month.
Congress member Basavraj Patil demanded an increase in the pension amount for those who participated in the 'Marathwada Mukti Sangram' (liberation of Marathwada). Fadnavis responded to this saying those who fought in the freedom struggles for Goa, Marathwada and India are on a par and their pensions have recently been hiked.
