Family wanted Kejriwal at funeral, made Rahul wait

BHIWANI: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had to wait at the funeral of the former soldier as the latter’s family wanted to start the rituals also in the presence of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Thirty minutes later, Kejriwal reached the crematorium ground in Haryana’s Bhiwani.

Gandhi and Kejriwal have lent support to the 70-year-old Ram Kishan Grewal’s family, even as BJP leaders allege they are politicising the issue.

Family members wanted to start the ritual of bathing the body before the funeral, but Congress workers stopped them as Gandhi had not arrived.

The Congress leader reached the village around 10.45am. He spent a few minutes at Grewal’s house, offered condolences to the family and then went to the crematorium ground.

Grewal’s body was brought to the crematorium. But the family did not want to start the final rites since Kejriwal was still on his way. Gandhi could be seen chatting with his partymen.

Both leaders on Wednesday had a spat with police over handling of the situation arising out of the death of the retired soldier over the controversial pensions programme called ‘One Rank One Pension (OROP)’, which came into force about a year ago.

Kejriwal reached the site around noon. After a few minutes, Grewal’s eldest son, Dilawar, lit the pyre.

Though the leaders appear to be sharing a common cause on attacking the Narendra Modi government, they preferred to maintain distance and stood on opposite sides.

There was no contact between them. Gandhi was about to leave with his supporters after the pyre was lit, but he returned to say his prayers to the family.

A senior Congress leader from the state told HT that Gandhi was feeling “uneasy”.

Kejriwal visited Grewal’s home after the cremation to talk to the ex-soldier’s son and wife.

Congress national spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, when asked why Gandhi and Kejriwal seemed distant, said: “Nobody is apart. The 125 crore people of this country are together when it comes to the rights of our jawans. It is the Modi government who is not able to hear their cries.”