Oppn steps up attack, demands withdrawal of Agnipath scheme

New Delhi: Amid widespread protests against the Agnipath scheme for recruitment in defence services, the Congress on Friday demanded its immediate rollback, saying it is neither in the interest of the country nor its security.

The party's Rajya Sabha MP Deepinder Singh Hooda said the scheme should be taken back immediately and a three-year age relaxation be announced for youths who could not join the armed forces due to delays in recruitment.

Urging the protesters to be patient and not resort to violence, he asked the government to apologise to the youth of the country for bringing the new short-term recruitment scheme for the armed forces.

"The government should immediately take back the Agnipath scheme. It is neither in favour of national security nor national interests and certainly not in favour of the country's youth," he told reporters at a press conference.

"We demand an age relaxation of three years as there has been no recruitment for the last three years. Anything less than three years is not acceptable," Hooda said.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not understand what the people of the country want as he cannot hear anything except the voice of his "friends."

He said this a day after the government raised the upper age limit to 23 years from 21 years for recruitment under 'Agnipath,' amid protests by youth in several parts of the country against the scheme.

Gandhi also cited schemes such as GST, note ban, farm laws and now Agnipath, saying they were projected to be for the welfare of the people but were rejected by the citizens.

"Agnipath - youth rejected. Farm laws - farmers rejected. Noteban - economists rejected. GST - traders rejected.

"The Prime Minister does not understand what the people of the country want, as he cannot hear anything except the voice of his friends," Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, too, urged the Prime Minister to withdraw the scheme as the youth are opposing it with protests. She said that the BJP government had to change the rules of the new army recruitment scheme within 24 hours.

"This means that the plan has been imposed on the youth in a hurry," she said. "Narendra Modi ji, please withdraw the scheme immediately," she said in a tweet.

"Make the army recruitment the same as before by giving relief in the age limit," she said. The Congress has demanded that the short service recruitment in the armed forces under Agnipath scheme be kept in abeyance and wider consultations be held with experts before taking further action on it.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "immediately" roll back the Agnipath scheme to save the country from "burning" in the anger of youth as protests against the Centre's new plan for recruitment into the armed forces intensified on Friday.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led party extended its support to the demands of youth for the roll back of the scheme but made a fervent appeal to the protesters to exercise their right to protest in a democratic manner, instead of resorting to vanadalism and arson.

Addressing a press conference, AAP Rajya Sabha MP and spokesperson Sanjay Singh also announced that his party will hold protest against the scheme across all districts in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, alleging that the Prime Minister has brought the scheme for recruitment into the armed forces to cater to the demand of trained security guards in private companies.

"Narendra Modi ji has brought this Agnipath scheme to benefit private companies. He wants to make army his private agency, a training centre for security guards," Singh charged.

"This is insult of the country's Army and the country's youth as well," he added.

Former Union minister and RJD leader Sharad Yadav said the 'Agnipath' scheme is not a reform but an "attempt to damage" the existing system of recruitment in the armed forces and demanded that the Centre should "revisit" the initiative.

Yadav also expressed concern that after a four-year stint as a soldier, there are more chances of "misuse of the skill" acquired after coming out of the armed forces.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann demanded an immediate rollback of the Centre's Agnipath scheme, calling it an insult to the Army and a loss for the state's youth.

"After stopping recruitment to the Army for two years, the Centre's new diktat is that stay in the Army for four years and then don't get pension," said Mann in a Hindi tweet as protests razed across states for the third day against the scheme.