Amidst protests across the country over the government’s ‘Agneepath’ scheme, BJP leader Varun Gandhi has written a letter to Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, urging him to clarify his stand by putting forth policy facts related to the scheme. It is written in the letter that there are many types of confusions in the minds of the people especially the youth regarding the scheme. They see their future going into darkness. In such a situation, the government should clear its position on this so that the anger of the people can end. In the letter, Varun Gandhi wrote that after the government’s position on the ‘Agneepath’ scheme is clear, the youth energy of the country will be used positively in the right direction.
On the other hand, Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday targeted the central government over the new scheme ‘Agneepath’ for recruitment in the armed forces, saying that it will prove fatal for the future of the country and the youth of the country. Yadav tweeted, “The security of the country is not a short term or informal issue, it calls for a very serious and long term policy. The negligent attitude that is being adopted regarding military recruitment will prove to be fatal for protecting the future of the country and the youth of the country. There should be no fire on the path from ‘Agneepath’.
Earlier, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati had also targeted the government on Thursday morning over the ‘Agneepath’ scheme. He said in a series of tweets on Thursday, “After keeping the recruitment pending for a long time in the army, now the center has started a new recruitment scheme ‘Agniveer’ with a short duration of 4 years in the army, despite calling it attractive and beneficial, the youth of the country The class is dissatisfied and angry. They are openly opposing changing the army recruitment system.”
BJP MP Varun Gandhi wrote in the letter that regular soldiers who retired after 15 years of service in the army are not showing much interest in joining the corporate sector. So what will happen to these Agniveers after a short period of 4 years? The education of these youths would be interrupted while serving in the army for four years. At the same time, being older than the other peers can make it difficult to get education and get a job in other institutions.
He believes that “these Agniveers, who come from farmer families, lower and middle classes, may have to face financial difficulties in running the household due to the low pay scale fixed by the government.” He wrote, “As Specialist cadre soldiers are required in the Armed Forces at the time of Special Operations, the years old regimental structure can be disrupted due to these soldiers having just 6 months basic training. This scheme will also result in wastage of training cost, because after 4 years the army will use only 25 percent of these trained personnel. Which will prove to be an unnecessary burden on the defense budget.
According to the MP, “After the implementation of this scheme, 75 percent of the youth recruited every year will be unemployed again after four years. Every year this number will increase. This will lead to more discontent among the youth of the country.” Varun Gandhi said that “We also have to think about those youths, whose age limit has been crossed due to Corona and not being recruited at the right time.
It is worth noting that under this new scheme of the Center, about 46,000 soldiers will be recruited this year in the Army, Navy and Air Force. The eligibility age for selection will be between 17 and a half years to 21 years and will be named as ‘Agniveer’.