The violence at Secunderabad Railway Station and the death of an Army aspirant allegedly in police firing drew sharp criticism from political parties who saw it as a reflection of anger building up among the youth against the Central Government, even as the BJP claimed that the violence was the “handiwork of MIM and TRS”.
Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) working president and IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao, who has been targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi regularly, tweeted saying that the protests against the Agniveer scheme was an eye-opener and acute indicator of the magnitude of unemployment crisis in the country.
“Pehle Desh ke Kisan Ke Saath खिलवाड़ Aur Ab Desh ke Jawan Ke Saath खिलवाड़. From One Rank - One Pension to proposed No Rank - No Pension!,” he tweeted blaming the Prime Minister for playing with the sentiments of youngsters.
Later in the evening, in a statement, he said that the Centre should own responsibility for the young man’s death and demanded the Prime Minister to respond and make his stand public to clear the doubts of the unemployed youth.
He said the Agnipath scheme was a unilateral decision, a trait of the PM. Farmers weren’t consulted before introducing farm laws, traders weren’t consulted before bringing GST, citizens of the nation were neglected during demonetisation, and the minorities were ignored when CAA was proposed, he said.
KTR also alleged that the BJP at the Centre was trying to privatise the military of the country and the Agnipath scheme was pushing the national security and future of youth into danger. He asked what would happen to the 75% youth who finish a four years’ career in the Army and come out.
He also stated that the controversial scheme would disturb the organisational culture, traditions, and values that have kept the Indian Army at the highest pedestal for decades. When the threat was the highest from neighbouring countries, the government was negatively affecting the spirit of the Armed forces. All the TRS Ministers and MLAs spoke on similar lines.
Anger against Modi: Revanth
Telangana Congress president A. Revanth Reddy termed the violent protests at Secunderabad as unfortunate and said that the anger among the youngsters reflected that the Modi government’s decision was wrong.
If youngsters who want to join the Army with patriotic feelings had reacted so violently, it means there was something wrong with the scheme. It is better the Modi government realise it fast and scrap the Agniveer scheme, he said, while demanding that the old method of recruitment should be continued.
Illogical scheme: Uttam
Congress MP N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, who served as a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force, said national security was being compromised with a flawed scheme called Agnipath.
He said it was an ill-conceived and poorly-planned scheme and described it as nothing but the introduction of contractual jobs in the Armed forces. “As a former soldier and fighter pilot, I can say that the six months of training and three-and-a-half years of service cannot inculcate the same spirit as of a full-time soldier,” he said.
“A full-time soldier dedicates his entire life to the country without any fear or worry and the Agniveers, will lack the same dedication given the uncertain future,” he said. He also ridiculed the BJP Govt's contention that Agniveers would be given priority in recruitment in para-military forces. In that case, all ex-servicemen should have been provided jobs in the paramilitary and other services now.
Youngsters misled: BJP
Describing the violence as the handiwork of TRS, MIM and the Congress, BJP State president Bandi Sanjay urged the youngsters not to get agitated as Prime Minister Modi would take care of their future. He described the aspirants as patriots.
Mr. Sanjay said the Intelligence department’s failure to notice such a large gathering was suspicious. It is easy to understand who were supporting this violence going by the provocative statements of those in responsible positions, he said. The real culprits will be exposed, he said adding that violence had nothing to do with the Agnipath scheme.
