Political backlash on Agnipath, veterans suggested to proceed with warning; protests get away throughout India

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The authorities’s new recruitment scheme Agnipath has stoked a serious debate. While the federal government has termed it transformative, the lawmakers inside the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and people in opposition have questioned the intentions of the federal government. Street Protests had been held by youth at varied locations within the nation.

Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Rahul Gandhi termed it an “uncalled for” transfer that too on the time when India is dealing with threats on two fronts.

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 should cease compromising the dignity, traditions, valour & self-discipline of our forces, added Rahul.

Questioning the brief tenure of service of those that will get inducted beneath the scheme, BJP MP from Pilibhit Varun Gandhi wrote, “Even the government gets elected for five years. Then why only four years is given to the youth to serve the nation?”

The Cabinet accepted the “transformative” scheme Agnipath, the brand new recruitment scheme for the armed forces, on Tuesday. Under it round 46,000 youth between the ages of 17 and a half years and 21 years shall be inducted into the Army, Navy and Air Force for a interval of 4 years.

One of the positives of the scheme is that this may make the age profile of the Units youthful.

Under the outdated system youth between 16 and half years and 21 years had been chosen for at least 15 years of service and used to get a pension for serving this a lot. Under the brand new scheme, 100 per cent of the recruits will depart after 4 years after which round 25 per cent shall be taken again from amongst them beneath a contemporary course of and can serve on a everlasting foundation.

The recruitment shall be on an “all India-all class” foundation which earlier was based mostly on area in addition to caste and used to serve in regiments like Dogra, Punjab, J&Ok, Rajput, Jat and Sikhs.

As per Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Tejashwi Yadav such coaching after which left unemployed after 4 years would possibly result in regulation and order difficulty.

“Under the Agnipath scheme a large population which is trained in using arms will get unemployed at the age of 22 years after serving for a temporary short period. Will it not lead to a law and order situation in the country?” he stated.

Lots of veterans expressed their angst towards the scheme. Lieutenant General (retired) P R Shankar, wrote in his weblog, “Many senior veterans have written with the wisdom of their experience. A common voice has emerged. The tour of duty does not seem to be a good idea. Proceed with caution.”

Protests get away in Bihar, Rajasthan

Army aspirants disrupted rail and street visitors in a number of elements of Bihar on Wednesday in protest towards the “Agnipath” scheme which proposes the recruitment of jawans on a contractual foundation for a four-year interval adopted by obligatory retirement for many with out gratuity and pension advantages.

In the Buxar district, greater than 100 younger males stormed the railway station and squatted on the tracks, blocking the onward journey of the Patna-bound Janshatabdi Express for practically half-hour.

They raised slogans towards the scheme, unveiled the day past by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, till safety personnel led by RPF inspector Deepak Kumar and GRP SHO Ramashish Prasad, arrived on the spot and warned them towards disruption of rail visitors.

There had been experiences in a piece of the regional media that the protesters had hurled stones at Pataliputra Express, which handed by way of the station, although each Kumar and Prasad denied such an prevalence.

In Muzaffarpur city, a lot of Army aspirants vented their ire by inserting burning tyres on the roads across the sprawling “Chakkar Maidan” the place they flip up in massive numbers for bodily assessments that are obligatory for the recruitment of jawans.

They stated they had been exasperated to study in regards to the new job guidelines which has come after two years of “no recruitment” by the armed forces regardless of their having handed the requisite bodily assessments.

Many Army aspirants additionally marched in direction of the Collectorate the place they submitted a memorandum to the District Magistrate.

In Begusarai, Army aspirants, a lot of them NCC cadets, staged an illustration at Mahadev Chowk the place they carried an enormous poster inscribed with the demand rollback of the Agnipath scheme.

Meanwhile, chief of the opposition within the state, Tejashwi Yadav, got here out with a flurry of tweets sharing his misgivings in regards to the much-touted transfer by the Narendra Modi authorities on the Centre.

The RJD chief expressed apprehensions that like contractual hiring in Railways and “lateral entry” in different authorities departments, Agnipath “will be used to do away with the constitutionally sanctioned reservation benefits”.

The former Bihar Deputy CM additionally alleged “BJP and Sangh Parivar may use the scheme for providing arms training, at government expense, to its hate-filled supporters and fringe elements”.

“As a result of the Agnipath scheme, many young men with military training will be rendered jobless at a tender age of 22. Will it not result in a major law and order problem in the country?”, he requested.

He additionally requested, with a rhetorical flourish, whether or not the federal government anticipated children recruited beneath the Agnipath scheme to spend remainder of their lives working as safety guards of “big capitalists friendly to the BJP”.

He additionally took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of 10 lakh authorities jobs until the tip of subsequent 12 months and requested if the quantity “takes into account the 19 lakh jobs promised in Bihar” forward of the 2020 meeting polls.

Around 150 individuals blocked the Ajmer-Delhi freeway on Wednesday in protest.

According to Kardhani Station House Officer (SHO) Banwari Meena, round 150 protesters blocked the freeway, demanding that recruitment into the armed forces ought to be finished following the sooner methodology.

The SHO stated the protesters had been subsequently dispersed and the freeway was cleared, including that 10 individuals had been arrested.

Here is what defence institutions are saying

Chief of Staff of the Army’s Eastern Command Lt General Ok Ok Repswal on Wednesday stated that recruitment of younger troopers beneath the ‘Agnipath’ scheme will present availability of a skilled pool in case of any requirement even after conclusion of their four-year time period within the armed forces.

“It’s a trained pool available to you and if the situation so demands, they can be called back,” he stated at a press convention on the Eastern Command headquarters right here at Fort William.

Repswal stated the Army will recruit 40,000 troopers beneath this scheme, and the method would start inside three months.

He stated at current, solely male candidates shall be recruited.

“Girls will also get a chance when the system stabilises.”

Asserting that the “Agnipath’ scheme is to remodel the Army to make it future-ready, Repswal stated it supplies for retention of 25 per cent of every batch for the common forces, and the 75 per cent who depart after completion of 4 years will get choice in recruitment in central armed police forces and the Assam Rifles.

The authorities had unveiled the scheme on Tuesday that can overhaul the decades-old choice course of to herald fitter and youthful troops to sort out future safety challenges dealing with the nation.

Around 46,000 troopers shall be recruited this 12 months between the ages of 17 and a half years and 21 years into the Army, Navy and the Air Force.

“The Indian Army will recruit 25,000 ‘Agniveers’ in the next 180 days and the process for recruitment of the remaining 15,000 will begin a month after that,” Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt General B S Raju instructed PTI.

He additional stated that the recruitment drive shall be in all of the 773 districts all through the nation.

“It will cover every district of the country,” he added.

Gen Raju stated that the defence minister is empowered to make crucial adjustments in line with operational necessities.

The “Agnipath” scheme is being seen as a serious overhaul of the decades-old choice course of to herald fitter and youthful troops to cope with future safety challenges dealing with the nation.

The recruitment shall be based mostly on an “all-India, all-class” foundation that’s set to alter the composition of some regiments that recruit youths from particular areas in addition to castes.

After completion of the four-year tenure of the recruits, the scheme supplies for retaining 25 per cent of every particular batch for normal service, based mostly on organisational necessities and insurance policies promulgated by the armed forces every so often.

The four-year tenure beneath the brand new scheme will embody round six months to eight months of coaching intervals.

Raju stated the recruitment will give a youthful profile to the Army and they’re going to additionally shortly adapt to new applied sciences.

Lieutenant General Arvind Walia, Chief of Staff, Southern Command, on Wednesday stated the brand new ‘Agnipath’ scheme for recruitment within the armed forces is a “transformational reform” for the Army and the nation because it goals to carry paradigm adjustments within the Army’s human useful resource administration.

Speaking to reporters on the Southern Command headquarters, Lt General Walia stated the idea of the scheme envisages the promotion of nationalism within the youth by providing expert manpower to the society and making certain a younger profile of the Army.

“The Agnipath scheme is a transformational reform for the Army and the nation and aims to bring paradigm changes in the human resource management of the Indian Army,” he stated.

The southern commander additionally stated the youthful profile of the Army will present a contemporary lease of “josh and jazba” (enthusiasm) whereas bringing a few transformational shift in direction of a extra technical-savvy armed power, which is the necessity of the hour.

The youths recruited beneath the scheme shall be often known as ‘Agniveers’.

After completion of the four-year tenure, 25 per cent of the recruits from every particular batch can be supplied common service.

The Lt General assured that there shall be no compromise on the requirements utilized by the armed forces in making certain the minimal bodily, medical {and professional} parameters for recruits.

He additionally stated that throughout the implementation and stabilisation of the scheme, the Army’s operational capabilities and preparedness shall be totally maintained.

“I wish to emphatically state that the Army will continue to retain its rich legacy, history, traditions, military values and culture – based on the principles of cohesiveness, camaraderie, and the core ethos of ‘Naam, Namak and Nishan'”, he said.

It is envisaged that the typical age profile of the Indian Armed forces would come down by about 4-5 years by the implementation of this scheme.

“The dividends of brief army service to the nation, society and the youth of the nation are immense.

This contains the inculcation of patriotism, teamwork, enhancement of bodily health, ingrained loyalty for the nation and availability of skilled personnel to spice up nationwide safety in occasions of exterior threats, inside threats and pure disasters,” the Lt General stated.

He additionally stated the scheme will result in a way more youthful and technically adept war-fighting power by making certain a nice stability between youthful and skilled personnel within the armed forces.

The Lt General added that the primary rally of the recruitment shall be held inside 90 days.

The Indian armed forces is not going to compromise with the standard of cadets whereas recruiting younger ‘Agniveers’ beneath the newly launched Agnipath scheme for 4 years, Air Marshal Manavendra Singh stated on Wednesday.

The Centre on Tuesday rolled out the Agnipath scheme providing four-year army coaching to youth from the ages 17.5 years to 21 years.

After finishing the coaching, the cadets could depart the service and make their very own transfer or if they want they’ll apply for normal enrolment within the army providers, the Centre stated whereas launching the scheme.

“I would like to reassure you that it (Agnipath scheme) will work. The quality (of recruited cadets under Agnipath scheme) will not be compromised,” Air Marshal Singh, who’s the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Headquarters Training Command, Indian Air Force, instructed reporters right here.

He was replying to a question on the defence veterans criticising the Agnipath scheme.

The Air Marshal stated within the fast-changing world there can’t be only one means of doing issues and demand upon doing issues that they’d been doing for the previous 100 or 200 years.

“There is no reason to believe that there isn’t just one way of doing things. Let’s give it (Agnipath scheme) a try. And I have really strong belief that it will succeed very well. It will be very well received by the youth of this country and we will benefit from it,” Air Marshal Singh stated.

He stated in a democratic nation, everyone seems to be free to voice their opinion.

But as an skilled of the topic, the IAF officer stated the defence institution can practice individuals for all types of specialisations.

To a question on reservation or choice in authorities jobs as soon as the ‘Agniveers’ are out of service, Air Marshal Singh stated they are going to be given choice in Central Armed Police Forces like CISF and Assam Rifles as soon as their time period is over.

Further, the Agniveer cadets shall be given a level by the Indira Gandhi National Open University after finishing 4 years of service, the Air Marshal stated.

According to him, the notification for the recruitment of Agniveer shall be out shortly and it’ll take about 90 days for the choice course of.

There shall be an all-India degree examination, whose particulars shall be obtainable on-line, he added.

“There will be a total of 250 centres all over India. We are doing it in collaboration with (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) C-DAC. They’ve been our technology partners for the last couple of years,” Air Marshal Singh stated.

Stating that the examination shall be carried out on a tried and examined system, he stated the examination course of works with none worry or favour, the place there shall be no scope for any intervention.

“It’s absolutely a transparent and fair system where everybody has an equal opportunity to make his mark and get selected,” the IAF officer defined.

Politicians disagree with the transfer

BJP Lok Sabha member Varun Gandhi on Wednesday raised questions on the newly introduced Agnipath scheme for recruitment of troopers into the armed forces, saying a authorities is elected for 5 years then why are youths being given 4 years to serve the nation.

Taking to Twitter, the Pilibhit MP, who has usually been taking a divergent view from the occasion on varied points, shared a video of kids expressing their considerations in regards to the transformative scheme that the federal government had on Tuesday unveiled for the recruitment of troopers within the Army, Navy and the Air Force.

Sharing the remuneration particulars of the brand new recruitment scheme for defence forces, Varun Gandhi in a tweet invited opinions about this plan whereas including that there are lots of “questions and doubts” within the minds of the youths relating to the Agnipath scheme.

Citing the video of kids who responded to his tweet, he stated even authorities is elected for 5 years then why solely youths are being given 4 years to serve the nation.

Meanwhile, the BJP-led authorities on the Centre on Wednesday introduced a raft of post-retirement employment potentialities for ‘Agniveer’ like a precedence in recruitment to the central armed police forces (CAPF) and Assam Rifles.

However, it did not assuage the considerations of the opposition Congress which warned the scheme will cut back the operational effectiveness of the armed forces.

RLP chief and Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal Wednesday opposed the scheme for the recruitment of troopers on a short-term contractual foundation and introduced a protest towards it on June 16.

He stated the federal government ought to withdraw the scheme, unveiled on Tuesday, and conduct rallies to recruit youths within the armed forces as earlier.

“On June 16, the party joined by youths will lodge protests at all district headquarters of the state (Rajasthan) against the contractual recruitment in the army and submit memoranda. The Centre should start army recruitment rallies and give two-year age relaxation to the youths,” Beniwal tweeted.

He stated there’s a sturdy resentment among the many youth towards the Center for not holding military recruitment rallies for the final two years and never finishing the method of recruitment rallies held earlier “and now due to the plan to recruit in the army on contract”.

The “transformative” scheme referred to as ‘Agnipath’ was introduced by the federal government for the recruitment of troopers within the Army, the Navy and the Air Force largely on a short-term contractual foundation to chop the ballooning wage and pension payments and allow a youthful profile of the armed forces, Under the ‘Agnipath’ scheme, Indian youths shall be supplied a possibility to serve within the armed forces as ‘Agniveer’.

Beniwal stated the Agneepath Scheme is a “joke” with the youths of the nation.

Recruiting younger males into the military beneath the Agneepath scheme to provide six-month weapon coaching and eradicating them after 4 years will result in incidents of a gang struggle.

The Centre ought to withdraw the scheme and recruit troopers within the military as earlier than, he stated.

Senior Congress chief Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Wednesday lashed out on the Centre over its “Agnipath” scheme, saying it neither favours the nation nor the youth.

He requested the federal government to rethink and rationalise it by making certain everlasting jobs to troopers who full their four-year time period within the armed forces.

“It has far-reaching consequences and these have not been fully considered while preparing this scheme. In the long run, the policy would have a detrimental impact on our national security,” Hooda claimed in an announcement right here.

“It seems the government is compromising with the security of the country with the intention of saving money on salary, pension, gratuity and halving the strength of the armed forces,” the previous Haryana chief minister alleged.

Hooda claimed that youth have develop into overaged as a result of closure of Army recruitment for the previous three years as a result of Covid pandemic.

“The hopes of the youth who had been waiting for the Army recruitment for the last many years and also those who had given written examination, physical test for Army recruitment and were waiting for the results have been dashed after the implementation of this new policy,” he stated.

The Congress chief demanded that the federal government ought to take into account giving rest in age restrict to the youth who’ve develop into overage prior to now three years.

Counting the shortcomings of the scheme, Hooda stated 75 per cent of the troopers who shall be recruited within the military as Agniveers shall be retired after 4 years.

“No care has been taken about what will happen to their future. This plan does not live up to the tradition, nature, morals and values of the Army,” he stated.

“The period of training prescribed under the scheme is insufficient. Insufficient training can have a negative impact on the capability and effectiveness of the military. With just four years of service, the Army will start being treated as a tourist organisation,” he claimed.

Hooda, who’s Leader of Opposition within the Haryana Assembly, stated regimental honour could be very sturdy a part of the custom of our armed forces and recruits would lose their attachment to the identify, insignia and the emotional join with the regiment.

“The government is talking about giving a lumpsum amount of Rs 11.71 lakh as a service fund to the Agniveers who will be forced out from the Army after four years while the truth is that only half of this fund belongs to the government and half will be the money of the soldiers’ earnings,” he stated.

He requested the federal government to obviously reply if an Agniveer, who’s unemployed after 4 years of service, will have the ability to spend his whole life with Rs 11.71 lakh.

“They will get neither pension, military hospital nor canteen facility after four years of service,” he stated.

The military of the youth who’ve accomplished 4 years of service shall be compelled to seek for jobs, he stated.

“Such unemployed youth who know how to use weapons can easily be misled, which can prove to be a serious threat to society. I urge the government to reconsider this scheme and take a decision keeping in mind the larger interest of the country and society,” he stated.

(With PTI Inputs)