The Congress on Monday said if the party forms the government at the Centre after the upcoming general election it will scrap the Agniveer scheme as it is detrimental to the country’s defence interest and also to the youth aspiring to join the defence forces
The Opposition party said about two lakh youth from across the country who were selected for defence service before the introduction of the scheme but were later denied joining. The party wanted them to be allowed to join the services immediately.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to the President Droupadi Murmu seeking her intervention in her capacity as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. He said these young men and women had been selected for service with the Indian Armed Forces but were cruelly denied the opportunity to serve their country after the Agnipath scheme.
The party also held a press conference addressed by senior leaders including Sachin Pilot, Deepender Hooda and Pawan Khera demanding scrapping of the Agnipath scheme and immediate induction of the selected youth in the defence services. .
“These young men and women had struggled against all odds to pass gruelling mental and physical tests and a written exam. Until May 31, 2022 they believed that they had fulfilled their dreams and were awaiting only their joining letters. On that day, their dreams were shattered by the Government of India’s decision to end this recruitment process and replace it with the Agnipath Scheme,” Kharge wrote in his letter to the President Murmu.
Opposing the scheme Kharge quoted former Chief of Army Staff General MM Naravane, who has written that the Army was “taken by surprise” by Agnipath and that “for the Navy and Air Force, it came like a bolt from the blue.”
The Congress president said, “the scheme is discriminatory among our jawans by creating parallel cadres of soldiers who are expected to work on similar tasks, but with very different emoluments, benefits and prospects”.
He said the majority of Agniveers will be released into an uncertain job market after four years of service, which some have argued could affect social stability.
Kharge underlined the injustice inflicted on the lakhs of youth whose dreams did not materialise despite the solemn promise made by the Government of India. “Not only did they spend years in pursuit of this dream, but the Rs 250 each of 50 lakh applicants had to pay to collect an application form was never refunded, which amounts to a hefty Rs 125 crore taken from these youngsters”, he pointed out, while adding, the resulting frustration and hopelessness has even led to several reported deaths by suicide.
Addressing the press conference, Sachin Pilot said, the Agnipath scheme has not only compromised the recruitment process, but also the security of the country as well.
He questioned the government’s logic behind introducing the scheme, which he said was done purely for cost cutting. He said, the Congress was opposed to it right from the beginning and will keep on opposing it. The senior leader asked what will the Agniveers do after retiring at a young age and without any resources.
Referring to the government announcement that ten percent jobs in the central police services will be reserved for Agniveers, he said, when it (the government) had not completed the recruitment for reservation under ex-servicemen category how can it be expected to fill ten percent reservation for the Agniveers.
Speaking on the occasion Deepender Hooda said, while the Prime Minister had promised one rank one pension, for the Agniveers there is “no rank no pension”, pointing out that there was no pension provision or other amenities like the canteen and health facilities for the Agniveers. He said, they will even be discriminated against in case of martyrdom.
He disclosed that after the introduction of the Agnipath scheme recruitment in the defence services had substantially fallen. He said, if the current trend continues the country’s defence forces’ strength may come down from 14 lakhs currently to just 8 lakhs in another ten years. He said, while on an average sixty to sixty five thousand soldiers were recruited every year, now the number has come down to forty to forty five thousand in previous year.Quoting the example of Haryana, Hooda said that while on an average about 5500 youth would get recruited every year in the army.