Now, Lok Sabha to pay obituary to fallen soldiers

NEW DELHI: From now on, the Lok Sabha will allocate one day during Parliament sessions to pay obituaries to personnel of the armed forces who die on the line of duty, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said today.

She said she had received a communication from the Defence Ministry requesting that soldiers who are killed in the line of duty be paid obituaries.

It is a tradition that both Houses of Parliament pay obituaries to sitting members, former members who pass away during inter-session period and people who die unnatural death due to terror-related incidents, natural calamities and accidents.

Mahajan said she referred to the letter from the Defence Ministry at the all-party meeting convened by her today ahead of the Monsoon session of Parliament beginning tomorrow.

"All those present welcomed the the suggestion...there was a demand to also pay tributes to men from BSF. I will talk to the Ministry of Home Affairs in this regard (of paying respects to personnel of central armed police forces)," she told reporters after the meeting.