Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi hit out at the BJP Government’s Agnipath scheme stating that this defence recruitment scheme of youngsters shows no respect for the army as there is no rank, no pension, and no direct recruitment for two years which creates an unstable future even after four years of training. ” Don’t take ‘agni-pariksha’ of their restraint by driving them on ‘agnipath’, Prime Minister”, he said.
Protests burst as stone-pelting in Bihar and Rajasthan on Thursday against the Agnipath scheme by the defence job seekers, two days after the Centre announced this scheme recruiting soldiers into the Army on a four-year contract. In Jaipur, around 150 people blocked the Ajmer-Delhi highway. They unleashed concerns over pension and job security, as only 25 per cent of the soldiers recruited through the scheme will be retained to serve a full term.
Rahul Gandhi tweeted, “When India faces threats on two fronts, the uncalled for Agnipath scheme reduces the operational effectiveness of our armed forces. The BJP govt must stop compromising the dignity, traditions, valour & discipline of our forces.”
Around 20 men gathered at railway station Nangloi, Delhi, to protest the delay in Railway recruitment examinations and the Agnipath scheme by the Centre. They stopped a train’s movement as well. They were pacified and dispersed. The situation is under control now, said Delhi Police.
The young dreamers of defence jobs from all over the country criticized the recruitment scheme asking what would happen to their future after four years if they were not retained.
