An argument has erupted between Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Bangalore South BJP MP Tejasvi Surya regarding compensation for the family of Captain Pranjal MV, who died in an encounter with terrorists in Rajouri district, Jammu and Kashmir, in November. Siddaramaiah lambasted Tejasvi for allegedly distorting his statements about Captain MV Pranjal. The CM shared the full video of his statement and demanded a public apology from Tejasvi for the misrepresentation.
Tejasvi had said through a post on social media that even after 10 days of Captain Pranjal’s death, no one from the state government contacted his family and not offered the compensation which had been announced earlier. Quoting from a press meet by the CM, Tejasvi said that the CM asked who Pranjal was.
“Who is Capt Pranjal?” “When did we announce any compensation to his family?” “The question of granting compensation arises only if we have promised.” Such callous, irresponsible & insensitive statements by CM Shri @siddaramaiah have insulted all the martyrs. He has behaved in a manner that does not befit the post of a Chief Minister,” Tejasvi had said in a follow up post on X on Monday, December 4.
Hitting back at Tejasvi, Siddaramaiah said that he asked the question about Pranjal as there was a lot of noise around him and he could not hear the reporter clearly. “It has come to my attention that a BJP MP named Tejaswi Surya has misrepresented my statement and circulated it on social media. In the video, due to the background noise, the initial part of the reporter’s query was unclear. When I realised the question pertained to the late Capt Pranjal, I not only asserted that the state government is committed to providing compensation but also said that if any other state has given a compensation of Rs 1 crore to the martyred soldiers, we are also ready to give the same amount,” the CM said. The CM also tweeted the video of the press meet.
In the video, Siddaramaiah is seen asking the reporter who had promised the compensation and repeatedly asks if anybody from his government had announced anything. Later, when the reporter repeats the question, Siddaramaiah adds that his Pranjal’s father is from Mysuru district and that a compensation of Rs 50 lakhs has already been announced and the government will increase it to Rs 1 cr if the Uttar Pradesh government is providing a higher compensation to martyrs.
The Karnataka government announced Rs 50 lakh in compensation to Captain M V Pranjal's family on November 25. The money was however handed over on December 4. The BJP has said that this was done only after Tejasvi raised the demand.
Following Siddaramaiah's statement, Tejasvi said that It’s true that for more than 12 days following Captain Pranjal's martyrdom, there was no outreach from the government to his family concerning ex-gratia compensation. “It’s true that you denied announcing any compensation before the media. It’s also true that until I wrote to you reminding you to fulfil your promise, there was no intent shown from the State Government to provide the compensation. It’s equally true that subsequent to my second press statement, the officials released an order late last night. It’s equally true that subsequent to my second press statement, the officials released an order late last night.” he said.