Govt destroyed dreams of youths with Agnipath scheme: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that the government's decision to cancel the permanent recruitment process of the Army and the Indian Air Force under the guise of the Agniveer scheme has destroyed the dreams of several youths of the nation.

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Tuesday said the government has destroyed the dreams of countless youths by introducing the Agnipath recruitment scheme, and voiced his support for those raising the issue of unemployment "from the streets to Parliament". In a post on Instagram, the Congress leader shared a photograph with a group of youngsters, saying they are from Bihar's Champaran.

"The government has destroyed the dreams of countless youths by cancelling the permanent recruitment process of the Army and the Indian Air Force under the guise of the Agniveer scheme, which was brought in to provide 'temporary recruitment'," Gandhi said in the post in Hindi.

"It is sad that the struggle of youths, who walked around 1,100 kilometres from the 'land of Satyagraha' Champaran to reach Delhi, has not been shown by the media," he said. "We are with the youths raising the issue of employment from the streets to Parliament," Gandhi added.

The Agnipath scheme, announced on June 14, 2022, provides for the recruitment of youngsters in the age bracket of 17-and-a-half to 21 years for only four years with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years.

Earlier, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that the Agnipath scheme for short-term recruitment into the armed forces was "bulldozed" through, "without meaningful consultations" with those who were being directly impacted by such a "disastrous policy".

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