The Congress on Thursday questioned the Agniveers’ combat preparedness and alleged a “high incidence of suicides” among them, widening the scope of its attack on the Agnipath scheme a day after the army countered Rahul Gandhi’s contention on compensation to the family of an Agniveer killed in action.

Col Rohit Chaudhary (retd), chairman of the Congress’s ex-servicemen department, was fielded to challenge defence minister Rajnath Singh’s “half-truths” in Parliament that he said had created “confusion”.

The issue relates not just to Ajay Kumar — who died in a landmine blast in Jammu and Kashmir in January — but to all the 13 Agniveers who had died since the scheme became operational in June last year, Chaudhary said.

Having met Ajay’s parents while electioneering in Punjab, Rahul has often spoken about him. He mentioned the slain Agniveer in Parliament earlier this week while intervening as leader of the Opposition in the discussion on the motion of thanks to the President’s address.

Rahul quoted the family as saying it had not received any compensation from the government. This prompted Rajnath to clarify that Agniveers killed in action are given Rs 1 crore as compensation.

On Wednesday, Rahul put out a video contesting this with a recording of Ajay’s father saying he had not received any money from the government.

Late on Wednesday night, the army put up a post on X saying: “Of the total amount due, family of Agniveer Ajay has already been paid ₹98.39 lakhs. Ex-Gratia and other benefits amounting to approximately 67 lakhs, as applicable according to the provisions of the Agniveer Scheme, will be paid on Final Account Settlement shortly post due Police verification. The total amount will be ₹1.65 Cr approximately.”

It added: “It is re-emphasised that emoluments due to a fallen hero are paid expeditiously to the Next of Kin of departed soldiers, including Agniveers.”

Referring to the army statement, a veteran — Colonel Amit Kumar (retd) — said in a post on X: “Was expecting this kind of gesture under political pressure. But reminding the statement made by @rajnathsingh categorically stated 1 crore is given by the Govt to the Agniveer. Insurance money is ₹48 lakh and (does) not come under the definition of awards or rewards….”

Asked if the army was lying, Chaudhary replied that the family was not very clear about the compensation due to it. “The army should tell families — often unlettered — what is their due and where all the money will come from,” he said.

“When we checked, we learnt that ₹1 crore has come from the Punjab government, ₹50 lakh from ICICI bank insurance which we get —in case killed in action — when we sign up for defence service package in some banks like SBI and ICICI. Of the amount the army has to give, only ₹48 lakh has come. This has gone into the joint account of his parents.

“The ₹44 lakh ex gratia amount and ₹8 lakh from the battle casualty fund is yet to come. Also, as per the scheme, he should be getting salary for four more years. That is not coming.”

On the source of the Congress claim that 13 Agniveers had died since June last year, Chaudhary said it was based on visits that ex-servicemen had paid to the families of the dead soldiers.

He demanded clarity on how they had died, claiming that many of them had died by suicide.

“If this is correct, then why so many suicides among Agniveers? In 26 years of service, I came across only one suicide in the army. If there are so many suicides, it shows the training is not making them mentally strong,” he said.

Chaudhary demanded a white paper on the Agnipath scheme.

Officially, the army has confirmed the death of only four Agniveers till now. Army sources refused comment on the Congress claim of 13 dead Agniveers.

While Rahul has dwelt on the hazards of sending youngsters with just six months’ training to the front, a social media post by a former navy chief on how this was affecting the combat units has added muscle to his contention.

“A lot of attention is (rightly) being focused on in-service disparities & poor post-demob prospects of young Agniveers. But is anyone worried about the huge operational handicap imposed on combat units, forced to accept barely trained recruits, fit only for sentry duties??” Admiral Arun Prakash (retd) had posted on X.

Without mentioning this post, the Congress flagged the issue of the Agniveers’ combat-readiness, arguing that not just their lives but also national security was being put at risk.