The Indian Army on Wednesday said that Agniveer Ajay Kumar’s family was paid Rs 98.39 lakh after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi claimed that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh ‘lied’ about compensation given to the family of a soldier who was killed in the line of duty. 

"Certain posts on social media have brought out that compensation hasn't been paid to the next of kin of Agniveer Ajay Kumar who lost his life in the line of duty... Of the total amount due, the family of Agniveer Ajay has already been paid Rs 98.39 lakhs," the Army said in a statement. 

The Army also clarified that compensation due to a fallen hero is paid next to the kin of departed soldiers, including ‘Agniveers’. The Army’s clarification comes after Rahul Gandhi posted a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, claiming that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh lied about the compensation given to the family of Agniveer Ajay Kumar. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also quoted Army’s X post and wrote, “Indian Army is committed to the welfare of Agniveers!”

The video purportedly featured the father of Ajay Kumar, who said that he had not received any compensation from the central government and that Rahul Gandhi raised their voice in Parliament. Earlier on Monday, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi said the government regards the Agniveers as "use-and-throw labourers" and does not give them the label of a ‘shaheed’ (martyr). 

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In response, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that Rahul Gandhi should not mislead Parliament and added that an Agniveer who lays down his life in the line of duty gets a compensation of Rs 1 crore.