New Delhi, Nov 26 (IANS) Charging it with “lack of sensitivity and compassion” in providing relief to the victims of the Mumbai terror attacks, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday demanded that the government should give solemn assurance to expedite the compensation cases of the victims.
The BJP also charged that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had been impolite to party leader Ananth Kumar during zero hour in the Lok Sabha when he sought an assurance from the UPA government on the points raised by Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani about problems being faced by Mumbai attack victims on the first anniversary of the tragedy.

“His (Mukherjee’s) remarks were not in good taste,” BJP leader Sushma Swaraj told mediapersons here. She said Mukherjee was Leader of the House and should have answered Kumar in the tenor in which the question was asked as per parliamentary etiquette.

Ananth Kumar said the government had paid compensation to only 118 people of the 403 victims - those injured and the kin of those killed. “The home ministry has cleared only 98 proposals for giving rehabilitation package, the Railway Claims Tribunal had cleared only 42 cases of 150 eligible, while 32 persons had been offered job by the railways of 64 eligible for employment,” he said, adding that 24 grievously injured persons still had bullets embedded in their bodies.

“They (the government) were incompetent in preventing the attack and lack sensitivity and compassion to provide relief to the victims,” Kumar told mediapersons.

He said that Mukherjee should have given clarification on the points raised by the opposition as it was an extraordinary issue. “The government should not behave in a callous manner,” he said, adding that the BJP was only apprising the government of the status of victims’ compensation claims in the house.

Kumar also said that 2611 was a national tragedy on which the country needs to stand united and his party will not be lagging in this effort.