Rajnath Singh launches web portal 'Bharat ke Veer'

NEW DELHI: Around three months ago, Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar came up with the idea of a mechanism for the general public to donate money to families of martyrs of central paramilitary forces who get killed in the line of duty. He discussed the idea with home ministry officials, who initiated plans for such a tool.On Sunday, while celebrating CRPF Valour Day, a website `bharatkeveer.gov.in' was launched at Vigyan Bhawan here by home minister Rajnath Singh in Akshay Kumar's presence. Through the portal, people can donate up to Rs 15 lakh to the families of martyred jawans and officers of central armed police forces (CAPFs).Addressing thousands of jawans and top brass of all central paramilitary forces ­ CRPF, CISF, BSF, ITBP, SSB and others ­ Kumar, who recently donated Rs 1.09 crore to 11 families of CRPF men who were killed in a Naxal ambush in Sukma, said, “Today, I am here between you not as an actor, but as the son of an Army officer.“Kumar said some youth of the country get distracted and choose the path of terrorism but they don't realise that they have very few supporters. “Our jawans fight them with all their heart and do good work. We need the support of 1.25 billion people to do good work,“ the national award winning actor said.Earlier, Kumar and Singh gave away medals to brave jawans and officers of CRPF, including head constable Baljit Singh, who had fought Chinese troops in 1959 at Hot Springs, Ladakh.“It would not be wrong if I call him `Action Kumar'. He is a hero for so many, but for him, Army and CAPF jawans are the real heroes,“ Singh said.The minister said the government was trying to ensure that the family of every martyr got at least Rs 1 crore in compensation. “Usually, the compensation amount when somebody was martyred while fighting for the nation varied from Rs 40 lakh to Rs 50 lakh. We want to make sure that they get Rs 1 crore. There was some gap in compensation in some states. But we have told states that we (the Centre) will fill that gap,“ Singh said, adding the country would forever remain indebted to its soldiers.