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JD(U), a crucial BJP ally, on Thursday sought a review of the ‘Agnipath scheme’ even as it offered unconditional support to the NDA alliance.
Senior Janata Dal (United) leader KC Tyagi said that his party wanted the shortcomings in the scheme to be discussed in detail. It came after Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, who is part of the Opposition INDIA bloc, said that the scheme should be scrapped with immediate effect.
Speaking to the media, Tyagi said, “A section of voters has been upset over the Agniveer scheme.”
He added, “Our party wants those shortcomings, which have been questioned by the public, to be discussed in detail and removed.”
While Tyagi, who is the chief spokesperson of JD(U), said that his party was seeking a review of Agniveer due to there being resentment against it in several states, he clarified that his party was not opposing it outright.
Meanwhile, in a press conference on Thursday, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav also criticised the Agnipath scheme, saying, “(The) Agniveer scheme should be scrapped with immediate effect and the government should accept it as their mistake.”
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He added, “Along with this, the government should look after the individuals and give age relaxation to the unemployed youths and ones who want to join the military forces.”
The Narendra Modi-led government rolled out the Agnipath recruitment scheme in June 2022 for short-term induction of personnel into the Indian armed forces.
One of the stated aims of the scheme is to bring down the age profile of the three services. The scheme provides for recruiting youngsters between the ages of 17-and-half years and 21 for four years, with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years. Those recruited under the scheme are called Agniveers.
The announcement of the Agnipath scheme had triggered violent protests in several parts of the country, with sections of the youth that were preparing for entry into the armed forces opposing the short-term service plan.
The Indian Army is also reportedly conducting an internal assessment of the Agnipath scheme and could suggest some adjustments.
A May 23 report by a national daily said that the purpose of the review was to help the incoming government in potentially modifying the scheme.
According to the report, the Army had sent out a questionnaire comprising 10 questions to concerned parties, with the responses set to be collected and analysed by the end of May for further review.
The Opposition Congress was against it from the beginning. One of their key planks in their Lok Sabha election campaign was the promise to remove it if they came to power.
During the Lok Sabha polls, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had said that the Agniveer scheme would be scrapped if the INDIA bloc came to power. Gandhi had also slammed Prime Minister Modi for “turning Hindustan ke jawan into labourers”.
On June 1, Rahul Gandhi wrote to President Droupadi Murmu against the Agnipath scheme.
In his two-page letter to the President, he alleged that there is “discrimination" in the nature and extent of benefits given to the families of the soldiers killed in action.
Gandhi said that though it is a policy matter that falls in the domain of an elected government, an “exception is warranted in this case” as the President is the supreme commander of the armed forces and the issue affects national security.
Gandhi said that he was writing to her with an appeal to provide justice to the Agniveers.
As of the end of May, two batches of 40,000 Agniveers were serving in the Army, with three batches of 7,385 Agniveers having completed training in the Indian Navy, and 4,955 Agniveer Vayu trainees in the Indian Air Force.
After the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, Bihar Chief Minister (CM) Nitish Kumar and Andhra Pradesh CM designate Chandrababu Naidu have emerged as kingmakers as the BJP failed to secure the majority of 272 seats by itself.
While the BJP emerged as the largest single party with 240 seats, it needs the help of Nitish and Naidu to form the NDA government at the Centre. Nitish's JD(U) won 12 seats in Bihar, while Naidu's Telugu Desam Party (TDP) bagged 16 seats in Andhra.
Both the allies have confirmed their support to the NDA.
(With agency inputs)
