Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Tuesday hiked the monthly pension of freedom fighters, their dependents as well as the Matribhasha Satyagrahis and the Emergency "sufferers".


Making the announcement, the Haryana CM wrote on X: "The pension of freedom fighters and their dependents has been increased from Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000. The pension of Emergency sufferers and the Matribhasha Satyagrahis has been increased to Rs 20,000. The new pension rates will be applicable with effect from July 1."






Notably, the announcements come ahead of the Assembly polls slated to be held in Haryana in October.


Former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had increased the pension amount for 'Matribhasha Satyagrahis' in October last year.


Satyagrahis are people who took part in the 'Hindi Aandolan' of 1957. He had also increased the pension of  the Emergency sufferers from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000.


Several people from Hindi-speaking parts of erstwhile Punjab, in 1957, launched a drive for the honour, implementation, and promotion of their mother tongue. Later they came to be known as 'Matribhasha Satyagrahis'.


The BJP government in Haryana, nearly seven years ago, decided to give a monthly pension to those in the state who were sufferered during the Emergency and were imprisoned during that time, between June 1975 to March 1977.


Meanwhile, the Haryana chief minister also paid tributes to the freedom fighters, saying that they made countless sacrifices for the sake of India's freedom.


He also paid tributes to the 'satyagrahis', who fought during the Emergency to uphold the spirit of the Constitution and restore democracy, an official statement said.


Launching a sharp attack on the Congress on the 49th anniversary of the Emergency, Saini stated in another post on X in Hindi: "The name of the horrific attempt to imprison the public sentiment of India was 'Emergency', which exposed the character of the Congress before the country and the world. 'Black Day' in the history of independent India." 


"I salute all those Satyagrahis who, despite facing terrible tortures, opposed the Emergency and preserved the democratic values," he added.


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