Rahul Gandhi promises 'martyr' status for jawans killed

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi Saturday said paramilitary personnel who are killed in the line of duty will be accorded with 'martyr' status if his party comes to power.

He said this in response to a question on 'martyr' status to the jawans during an interaction session with university students at the JLN Stadium here.

"I agree with you. Paramilitary jawans don't get 'martyr' status. They should get it, and if we come to power, they will be accorded that status," Gandhi said.

His comment comes days after 40 CRPF jawans were killed in the Pulwama terror attack.

"If you see, I am much in contact with paramilitary forces, because of security provided by them to me (during events). These jawans, whether from the CRPF, BSF, ITBP, or CISF, they suffer more casualty, but they get less infrastructure support, which is not good," Gandhi said.

After the terror assault in Pulwama, the Congress president had tweeted, "The brave are martyred. Their families struggle. 40 Jawans give their lives but are denied the status of 'Shaheed'."