Hyderabad:Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "doing petty politics" on occasions on Kargil Vijay Diwas.
In an elaborate post on X, Kharge, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, said, "It is very unfortunate and deplorable that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is doing petty politics even on occasions like paying tribute to martyrs on Kargil Vijay Diwas. No Prime Minister has ever done this before. Modiji is saying that his government implemented the Agnipath scheme at the behest of the Army, this is a blatant lie and an unforgivable insult to our valiant Armed Forces. Modiji, it is you who are spreading lies!"
"Former Army Chief (Retd.) General MM Naravane has said on record that 75% of recruits were to be taken for permanency in the 'Agnipath Scheme' and 25% of people were to be let go after four years. But the Modi government did the opposite, and forcibly implemented this scheme for all three Armed Forces. According to news reports, former Army Chief (Retd) General MM Naravane in his book which the Modi government, has stalled from being published, has also said, that the 'Agnipath Scheme' was shocking for the Army, and for the Navy and Air Force, it came like a 'bolt out of the blue'!"
Kharge said that several retired officers have slammed the Agnipath scheme and demanded that the scheme should be scrapped. "Are we creating professional soldiers, only by six months of training? Soldiers join the Army out of patriotism, not to earn a living. Many retired officers have strongly criticised Agnipath and said that it is endangering National Security and the aspirations of the rural youth, demanding that this scheme should be completely scrapped. All this is on record," added Kharge, who hails from Karnataka.
"Agniveers do not get any pension, no gratuity, no family pension, no liberalised family pension and no education allowance for their children. Modiji, 15 Agniveers have been martyred so far. At least respect their martyrdom. There is a lot of anger and strong opposition among the youth of the country regarding Agniveer! Congress party's demand is consistent - the Agnipath Scheme should be scrapped," added Kharge.
