Patna: In the first sign that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government's third term will not be a bed of roses but one of adjustment and accommodation, a Janata Dal United (JDU) leader revealed the party will demand a review of the Centre's Agnipath scheme for recruitment in the armed forces.
JDU spokesperson KC Tyagi, after a meeting at Nitish Kumar's residence in Delhi said that a section of voters from across states have shown resentment about the Agniveer Yojana. "There is anger in some section of the voters regarding the #Agniveer Scheme. Our party wants that those shortcomings should be removed about which people have raised questions," he said.
Additionally he also said that the party is not against Uniform Civil Code (UCC). "CM (Nitish Kumar) has written to Law Commission chief. All the stakeholders - be it various CMs, different political parties, different sects - there should be a discussion with all, and the issue should be resolved. There is unconditional support to NDA," he added.
The Agnipath scheme, which was introduced in 2022, allows for the temporary entry of individuals into the armed forces with the goal of reducing the average age of the three services. Agniveers are the people hired under the plan.
Children between the ages of 17.5 and 21 are admitted into the program for a four-year period. A clause states that 25 per cent of these new hires will be kept on for an additional 15 years. As their employment ends, the remainder will receive a compensation payout.
Young people planning to join the military forces were against the short-term service plan, and their opposition led to violent protests in numerous parts of the country when the scheme was announced. However, Akhilesh Yadav, the leader of the Samajwadi Party (SP), who ran for Lok Sabha from Uttar Pradesh in a coalition with the Congress, also advocated for the cancellation of the Agniveer program.
"In my opinion, the Agniveer scheme needs to be abandoned right away. Yadav told the reporters that "the government should acknowledge that it was wrong to implement the Agniveer system."
General VK Singh, the previous head of the army, suggested last month that when the first group of recruits completes their four years of duty, changes to the Agnipath program might be taken into consideration. From March 2010 until May 2012, Singh served as the head of the army and announced that the first group of Agniveers had already been assigned to their regiments.
According to the Center, the Agnipath program aims to balance the ranks' youthful and experienced members and enhance military readiness for combat. In addition to the distinctive experience of serving in the armed services, which will make their resume stand out, they have stated that Agniveers will benefit from a good cash package at the conclusion of their four-year duty.
The long-standing demands of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president Chandrababu Naidu for special status for their respective states, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, are once again in the spotlight.
The JD(U), too, has demanded special status for Bihar and has stressed it will continue with the NDA. The idea of special category status was taken away from the states by the Fourteenth Finance Commission, and ever since, the Center has always dissuaded calls for special category status. The JD(U) has emphasised that it will stick with the NDA and has also called for special status for Bihar.
The results of the 2024 Lok Sabha election were announced on Tuesday, June 4. The BJP secured 240 seats, falling 32 seats short of the required majority of 272. TDP (16) and JDU (12) together hold 28 seats and along with BJP's other allies, the NDA tally past the magic figure. The INDIA Opposition bloc, on the other hand, has clinched 232 seats, defying exit poll predictions.
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