Amid widespread protests against the Agnipath scheme for recruitment in the armed forces, the Congress on Friday demanded its immediate rollback and said that it is neither in country's interest nor security.
The party also demanded that the government convene either a special session of Parliament or an all-party meeting to discuss the armed forces recruitment issue and build a bipartisan consensus on the matter.
Rajya Sabha member and party general secretary (organisation) K. C. Venugopal also wrote to the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence to immediately convene a meeting and seek the opinion of defence experts on the issue.
Addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters, party spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Deepinder Singh Hooda said the scheme should be taken back immediately and a three-year should be given for youths who could not join the armed forces due to delays in recruitment.
“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.
Mr. Hooda also urged the protesters to be patient and not resort to violence and assured that the Congress would take up their cause.
He also asked the Narendra Modi government to apologise to the youth of the country for bringing the new short-term recruitment scheme for the armed forces and asserted that it shows the government's disconnect with hopes and aspirations of rural India.
"Don't make the same mistake as you (government) did during the farmers' agitation which saw the death of over 700 protesting farmers. Please withdraw the scheme immediately," Mr. Hooda said, adding that the BJP gets fascinated by "imported schemes" without paying attention to Indian conditions.
In his letter to Jual Oram, who heads the parliamentary panel on defence, Mr Venugopal said, "There is a widespread anger among the youth with regard to this scheme, particularly due to its temporary nature, lack of pension and health care benefits."
Mr. Venugopal said the scheme can damage long standing military traditions and there are apprehensions about the proposed six month training period to prepare a soldier.
The issue also saw Lok Sabha member Manish Tewari spar with his colleague Saptagiri Ulaka on social media after Mr. Ulaka pointed out that Mr. Tewari's opinion that weighs in favour of the new scheme should be seen as an individual opinion and not the Congress party's view.
"Dear @saptagiriulaka ji, You are valued colleague in Lok Sabha. However May I respectfully point out that when you may have been running around in your knickers my dear friend I was actively working for @INCIndia . I would request you to kindly refrain from these snide tweets," Mr. Tewari tweeted in response to Mr. Ulaka.
Among other Opposition leaders, CPI general secretary D Raja tweeted, "We are witnessing our demographic dividend turning into a demographic disaster. Our youth is unemployed and restive. Modi Ji should understand this and stop forcing our youth on the ‘Path of Fire’!"
