New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS) A sombre function to pay tribute to the victims of the attack on the Indian parliament six years ago turned into embarrassment for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other leaders when a tearful widow of one of the victims accused the government of not giving her the land promised for a petrol pump.
At the morning ceremony inside Parliament House, Ganga Devi, widow of Assistant Sub-Inspector Nanak Chand who was among the nine people killed in the 2001 terror attack, was inconsolable when narrating her woes to Manmohan Singh and other dignitaries present.
“I do not want you to pay any tributes. I am helpless and suffering from poverty,” Devi, who was invited to the function, said sobbing.
She complained that the government has not fulfilled its promise of land for a petrol pump that was allotted to her as part of the compensation.
However, union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora denied the allegation, claiming that the allotment was made to Ganga Devi on Jan 25 this year.
Speaking to reporters, Deora said that of the nine cases, three retail outlets were commissioned in 2003, one in 2006 and four in 2007.
“The retail outlet allotted to Ganga Devi, wife of Late Nanak Chand, was commissioned on Jan 25, 2007. The retail outlet is functioning smoothly without any problems, with the monthly sales being 40 kilolitres of petrol and 150 kilolitres of diesel. The allottee has not approached BPCL officials with any problem so far,” he said.
The minister added that he personally reviewed the progress in commissioning the outlets and had taken up the matter of land allotment with the state chief ministers. “We have also accommodated their requests for choice of location which in some cases has resulted in extending the date of commissioning of the outlet,” he added.
Vice President Hamid Ansari, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani, Defence Minister A.K. Antony, Parliamentary Affairs Minister P.R. Dasmunsi, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Jaswant Singh, V.K. Malhotra and Sushma Swaraj were also present at the morning function in Parliament House.
Nine people, including security personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), parliament’s watch and ward staff, the Delhi Police, and a gardener were killed in the half-hour gun-battle in the parliament complex. Five attackers of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group were also killed in the gun battle.