Defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday that due to an increase, pension for disabled army personnel has come under the tax net.
Responding to Indian National Congress members in the Lok Sabha, Rajnath Singh said he would revert to the House on the subject after obtaining more information on the issue.
Defence preparedness and the interests of soldiers, the Defence Minister affirmed, are ‘paramount for us.’
The House of the People, earlier, witnessed heated protests against the recent Central Board of Direct Taxes order.
Congress leader in the House Adhir Ranjan Choudhary attempted to raise the issue during Question Hour and then at the start of the Zero Hour.
Adjournment notice
Choudhary said he had given an adjournment motion notice on tax rebate to disabled Indian armed forces personnel.
Speaker Om Birla said that first the new members would be given a chance to speak during the Zero Hour then the Congress leader will be permitted to bring up the subject. This led to uproar and members of the party entered the well of the House.
Intervening, minister of state for parliamentary aAffairs Arjun Ram Meghwal said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government respects the Army and it was ‘our government which gave One Rank, One Pension.’
The Speaker asked the members to return to their seats and then permitted Mr Choudhary to speak on the issue.
Referring to the recent CBDT order, Mr Choudhary said, taxes were now being levied on pension received by Divyang ex-servicemen and the CBDT order should be withdrawn immediately.
