Amid protests in many parts of the country against the “Agnipath” scheme unveiled by the Narendra Modi government, the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders on Friday dubbed the BJP as “anti-Army” and said it was “teasing the unemployed youth” and taking the people of the country on a “Jumla-path”.
Coming down heavily on the ruling BJP at the Centre for its “mindless and arbitrary” to decision to introduce“Agnipath” scheme, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said: “Giving employment for mere four in the armed forces under the cute name of ‘Agnipath’ means that the youth of the country face a bleak future. Then, these young boys and girls will again be rendered jobless. The Narendra Modi government is making a mockery of the people and deceiving the youth and the jobless of India”.
State Congress’ Chief Spokesperson Atul Londhe said that currently, there were 62,29,000 vacancies in the Central Government, out of which 2,55,000 are in the Indian Army.
“The decision to recruit only 46,000 of them was made with great fanfare. After six months training and then three half years in the job, those opting will get barely Rs.30,000-Rs.40,000 salary, no job security and no future provisions. The BJP government is gambling with the careers of our youths and Agnipath must be rolled back,” Londe said.
In his vehement criticism of the Modi government for its “Agnipath” scheme, State NCP’s Chief Spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said under the BJP rule, the country was witnessing its highest-ever unemployment situation and the Centre was not serious about finding a long-term solution for the millions of jobless youth.
“The new Agnipath scheme envisages unemployed youths of the country to join the Indian Armed Forces for a short service tenure of four years, and then fails to safeguard the long-term service prospects of these hopeful young men and women… The scheme lacks imagination and direction, and this is evident from the massive protests that have erupted all over the country,” Tapase said.
Shiv Sena’s spokesperson Dr. Manisha Kayande debunked the “Agnipath” scheme, saying that it was yet another instance of how the Modi dispensation was proving to be ‘anti-army’ in its approach, though our brave soldiers were always prepared to sacrifice their lives for the nation.
“First there was the controversial policy of One Rank One Pension’(OROP) which was opposed by the armed forces also, and now we have the Agnipath scheme. Till now the youth could serve for 16 years and then if found physically fit, their tenure could be extended. But Agnipath will completely dilute it,” Dr. Kayande said.
“The Agnipath scheme is clearly an injustice on the young people who are the future of the country… We demand that this scheme should be immediately withdrawn,” Dr. Kayande said.
Tapase said that while earlier Modi had promised 'One Rank One Pension’, under Agnipath, there would be ‘No Rank, No Pension’ or even gratuity for the youth who take up the 4-year jobs in the armed forces. “Under such a scenario, how and where will the youth learn new skills to get them proper jobs after leaving the armed forces? Even the private sector will not accept them with full pay scales and the dignity they deserve,” Tapase said.
Patole, Tapase and Dr. Kayande demanded to know “what happened to Modi’s tall promise of providing two crore jobs every year” made during the 2014 elections, and sought details of exactly how jobs were created in the past 8 years of the BJP rule.
