Congress' Protest Looms Over Disability Pension Taxation

The Congress has issued a stern warning of protests against the government's proposal to tax disability pensions for soldiers. Highlighted in a statement on Wednesday, the party has demanded the withdrawal of this policy by month's end.

Colonel Rohit Chaudhry (retd), who chairs the Congress ex-servicemen department, emphasized that the party's stance is firmly supported by Rahul Gandhi. As a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, Gandhi plans to raise this pressing issue during the committee meeting on February 19. The policy in question, introduced by the Modi government in 2023, controversially requires soldiers who continue service despite impairments to pay income tax on their disability pensions.

Critics argue that renaming 'disability pensions' as 'Impairments Relief' has unjustly brought these payments under taxation, violating a Supreme Court ruling. With 200,000 disabled soldiers potentially affected, Congress sees this as a matter of dignity and financial security for veterans. A protest campaign, escalating to a major demonstration planned for March 1, sees ex-servicemen ready to exert collective pressure on the government in Delhi.