Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet the chiefs of the three armed forces- the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force, amid the Agneepath scheme controversy. The three army chiefs are likely to apprise PM Modi about various aspects of implementation of the scheme.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister, speaking in favor of Agneepath, said that some decisions “may seem bitter at first” but will bear fruit in the days to come.
Kendra and several business tycoons have supported the controversial plan. Anand Mahindra, Chairman of Mahindra Group, N ChandrasekharniThe plan has been endorsed by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairman of Tata Sons and chairperson of Biocon. Meanwhile, the Indian Army has released the first notification for the recruitment of Agneepath under the Agneepath scheme with the registration process starting in July this year.
The government has claimed that the ‘Agneepath’ scheme gives a golden opportunity to the youth to join the defense system and serve the country. On the other hand the opposition[parties, especially Indian National Congress said that the Agnipath carries multiple risks, subverts the long-standing traditions and ethos of the armed forces and there is no guarantee that the soldiers recruited under the scheme will be better trained and motivated to defend the country.
Yesterday, the Congress party took out anti-Agnipath protest in the national capital Delhi wherein some youth leaders of the party stopped trains in the city to push for their demand for a rollback of the ‘Agnipath’ defence recruitment scheme.
Thereafter, Delhi Police detained 178 Congress party workers and leaders for violating prohibitory orders imposed under section 144.
The Agnipath scheme provides for the recruitment of youths between the age bracket of 17-and-half years to 21 for only four years with a provision to retain 25% of them for 15 more years. The government extended the upper age limit to 23 years for recruitment in 2022. The personnel to be recruited under the new scheme will be known as ‘Agniveers’. Several opposition parties as well as military veterans criticised the scheme questioning the four-year tenure for 75% of the recruits.