New Delhi: Amid protests against the Centre's Agnipath scheme, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to listen to the voice of unemployed youths and not take 'agnipareeksha (trial by fire)' of their patience by making them walk on 'Agnipath'. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hit out at the government over the scheme and urged the prime minister not to "crush the dreams of the youth".
While the Opposition on Thursday stepped up its attack on the government over the Agnipath scheme amid protests against it in several parts of the country and demanded that it be scrapped, even as official sources asserted that no change is being done to the Army's regimental system under the new initiative.
Protests against the Centre's 'Agnipath' scheme for hiring jawans on a short-term contractual basis were reported from various parts of the country on Thursday. "No rank, no pension, no direct recruitment for 2 years, no stable future after four years, no respect shown by the government for the army," Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi, attacking the Centre over the scheme.
"Listen to the voice of unemployed youths of the country, don't take 'agnipareeksha' of their patience by making them walk on 'Agnipath', Mr. prime minister," the former Congress chief said. In a tweet in Hindi, Priyanka Gandhi said there are many dreams for the future in the eyes of those preparing for recruitment in the armed forces such as serving the country and their parents.
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न कोई रैंक, न कोई पेंशन
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 16, 2022 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
न 2 साल से कोई direct भर्ती
न 4 साल के बाद स्थिर भविष्य
न सरकार का सेना के प्रति सम्मान
देश के बेरोज़गार युवाओं की आवाज़ सुनिए, इन्हे 'अग्निपथ' पर चला कर इनके संयम की 'अग्निपरीक्षा' मत लीजिए, प्रधानमंत्री जी।
">न कोई रैंक, न कोई पेंशन
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 16, 2022
न 2 साल से कोई direct भर्ती
न 4 साल के बाद स्थिर भविष्य
न सरकार का सेना के प्रति सम्मान
देश के बेरोज़गार युवाओं की आवाज़ सुनिए, इन्हे 'अग्निपथ' पर चला कर इनके संयम की 'अग्निपरीक्षा' मत लीजिए, प्रधानमंत्री जी।न कोई रैंक, न कोई पेंशन
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 16, 2022
न 2 साल से कोई direct भर्ती
न 4 साल के बाद स्थिर भविष्य
न सरकार का सेना के प्रति सम्मान
देश के बेरोज़गार युवाओं की आवाज़ सुनिए, इन्हे 'अग्निपथ' पर चला कर इनके संयम की 'अग्निपरीक्षा' मत लीजिए, प्रधानमंत्री जी।
Also read: Agnipath recruitment scheme: Stone pelting, arson reported as protests turn violent in Bihar
"What will the new army recruitment scheme give them? After 4 years, no job guarantee, no pension facility = no rank, no pension. @narendramodi ji don't crush the dreams of the youth," she said. The government unveiled "Agnipath" on Tuesday -- calling it a "transformative" scheme-- for the recruitment of soldiers in the Army, Navy and the Air Force, largely on a four-year short-term contractual basis, in a major overhaul of the decades-old selection process to bring in fitter and younger troops to deal with future security challenges facing the nation.
Trains were set afire, window panes of buses smashed and passersby, including a ruling BJP MLA, pelted with stones in Bihar by Army job aspirants whose protest against the short-term recruitment scheme continued for the second consecutive day. Protests against the scheme also took place in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Hundreds of young people took to the streets in Haryana's Gurugram, Rewari and Palwal while scores of youngsters in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr and Ballia districts staged protests against it.
Amid the protests, government sources said no change is being done to the Army's regimental system under it and the numbers of personnel to be recruited in the first year of its roll out would only make up three per cent of the armed forces. The scheme is aimed at increasing opportunities for youths to serve in the armed forces and the recruitment of the personnel under it will be around triple of the current enrolment in the armed forces, they said without specifying the duration of comparison.
On the criticism that the short-duration tenure of 'Agniveers' will harm the effectiveness of the armed forces, the sources said such a system exists in several countries, and hence, it is already "tested out and considered best practice for an agile army". The Opposition came down heavily on the government over the scheme and demanded a rollback.
Questioning various provisions of Agnipath, BJP MP Varun Gandhi said it will give rise to more disaffection among the youths and asked the government to make its stand clear. In a letter to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Varun Gandhi said the young population has shared their questions and doubts with him about the radical changes in the soldiers' recruitment process which also proposes that the 75 per cent of the recruits under the scheme will retire after four years of service without pension.
The Left parties demanded that the Agnipath scheme be scrapped and be taken up in Parliament for discussion, alleging that it does a "disservice" to India's national interests. "The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly disapproves the 'Agnipath' scheme that does disservice to India's national interests. Professional armed forces cannot be raised by recruiting 'soldiers on contract' for a period of four years.
This scheme, to save pension money, severely compromises the quality and efficiency of our professional armed forces," CPIM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said in a tweet. CPI general secretary D Raja tweeted, "Finding jobs has become literally a 'Path of Fire' under Modi. Govt is trying to hoodwink the restive youth by #AgnipathScheme. It'll make our army contract based & jeopardise the future of our youth. It should be withdrawn immediately! Youth deserve proper, secure jobs!"
Also read: 'Agnipath' scheme will boost youthfulness of army, says top commander
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealed to the central government to give the youth the chance to serve the country throughout their life, not just four years. Samajwadi Party president Yadav also hit out at the central government over the Agnipath scheme. "The security of the country is not a short-term or informal issue; it expects a very serious and long-term policy. The negligent attitude that is being adopted regarding military recruitment will prove to be fatal when it comes to the protection of the future of the country and the youth, Akhilesh said in a tweet.
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देश के भावी सैन्य बलों पर बल का दुरुपयोग करके भाजपा सरकार युवाओं का मनोबल गिरा रही है। ‘भारत माता’ का उद्घोष झूठे दिखावे का नहीं; सच्ची देशभक्ति का प्रतीक होना चाहिए।
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) June 16, 2022 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
सेना का ठेकेदारीकरण देश और सच्चे देश भक्त युवाओं के लिए विश्वासघात के समान है।
फ़ौज आउटसोर्स का विषय नहीं है। pic.twitter.com/hSfiHuyV9D
">देश के भावी सैन्य बलों पर बल का दुरुपयोग करके भाजपा सरकार युवाओं का मनोबल गिरा रही है। ‘भारत माता’ का उद्घोष झूठे दिखावे का नहीं; सच्ची देशभक्ति का प्रतीक होना चाहिए।
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) June 16, 2022
सेना का ठेकेदारीकरण देश और सच्चे देश भक्त युवाओं के लिए विश्वासघात के समान है।
फ़ौज आउटसोर्स का विषय नहीं है। pic.twitter.com/hSfiHuyV9Dदेश के भावी सैन्य बलों पर बल का दुरुपयोग करके भाजपा सरकार युवाओं का मनोबल गिरा रही है। ‘भारत माता’ का उद्घोष झूठे दिखावे का नहीं; सच्ची देशभक्ति का प्रतीक होना चाहिए।
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) June 16, 2022
सेना का ठेकेदारीकरण देश और सच्चे देश भक्त युवाओं के लिए विश्वासघात के समान है।
फ़ौज आउटसोर्स का विषय नहीं है। pic.twitter.com/hSfiHuyV9D
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati hit out at the Union government over the scheme, terming it "unfair towards rural youth". She urged the Centre to "reconsider" its decision immediately. The government unveiled Agnipath on Tuesday -- calling it a "transformative" scheme-- for the recruitment of soldiers in the Army, Navy and the Air Force, largely on a four-year short-term contractual basis. Under the scheme, around 46,000 soldiers will be recruited this year between the ages of 17-and-a-half years and 21 years into the three services, the defence ministry said.
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3. देश में लोग पहले ही बढ़ती गरीबी, महंगाई, बेरोजगारी एवं सरकार की गलत नीतियों व अहंकारी कार्यशैली आदि से दुःखी व त्रस्त हैं, ऐसे में सेना में नई भर्ती को लेकर युवा वर्ग में फैली बेचैनी अब निराशा उत्पन्न कर रही है। सरकार तुरन्त अपने फैसले पर पुनर्विचार करे, बीएसपी की यह माँग।
— Mayawati (@Mayawati) June 16, 2022 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">3. देश में लोग पहले ही बढ़ती गरीबी, महंगाई, बेरोजगारी एवं सरकार की गलत नीतियों व अहंकारी कार्यशैली आदि से दुःखी व त्रस्त हैं, ऐसे में सेना में नई भर्ती को लेकर युवा वर्ग में फैली बेचैनी अब निराशा उत्पन्न कर रही है। सरकार तुरन्त अपने फैसले पर पुनर्विचार करे, बीएसपी की यह माँग।
— Mayawati (@Mayawati) June 16, 20223. देश में लोग पहले ही बढ़ती गरीबी, महंगाई, बेरोजगारी एवं सरकार की गलत नीतियों व अहंकारी कार्यशैली आदि से दुःखी व त्रस्त हैं, ऐसे में सेना में नई भर्ती को लेकर युवा वर्ग में फैली बेचैनी अब निराशा उत्पन्न कर रही है। सरकार तुरन्त अपने फैसले पर पुनर्विचार करे, बीएसपी की यह माँग।
— Mayawati (@Mayawati) June 16, 2022
Under the scheme, around 46,000 soldiers will be recruited this year between the ages of 17-and-a-half years and 21 years into the three services, the defence ministry said. The recruitment will be based on an "all India, all-class" basis that is set to change the composition of several regiments that recruit youths from specific regions as well as castes such as Rajputs, Jats and Sikhs.
After the completion of the four-year tenure of the recruits, the scheme provides for retaining 25 per cent of each specific batch for regular service, based on organisational requirements and policies promulgated by the armed forces from time to time. (with Agency Inputs)
