The government on Wednesday announced post-retirement employment prospects for ‘Agniveer’ as a priority in recruitment in central paramilitary forces, but protests erupted in Bihar over the ‘Agneepath’ scheme, with a short duration of four years. It is envisaged to recruit soldiers for Most retire without pension. Army candidates disrupted rail and road traffic in several parts of the state, including Buxar district, where over 100 youths stormed the railway station and sat on the tracks, making the onward journey of the Patna-bound Jan Shatabdi Express almost Interrupted for 30 minutes.
The Centre’s announcement also failed to assuage the concerns of the opposition Congress, which warned that the “transformative” ‘Agneepath’ plan would reduce the operational effectiveness of the armed forces. The main opposition party had a day earlier expressed serious apprehensions about the future of these soldiers, most of whom would retire at a very young age after barely four years of short service. The government on Tuesday unveiled the scheme that will replace the decades-old selection process to bring in fitter and younger soldiers to meet the future security challenges facing the country.
This year around 46,000 soldiers will be recruited in the Army, Navy and Air Force between the ages of 17 and a half to 21 years. Home Minister Amit Shah’s office tweeted on Wednesday that ‘Agneepath’ is a visionary and welcome decision of the Prime Minister. Narendra Modi For the bright future of the youth of the country.
“In this context, today the Ministry of Home Affairs has decided to give priority to Agniveers who have completed four years under this scheme in the recruitment of CAPFs and Assam Rifles,” the HMO said. India tweeted. “Detailed planning work has begun on this decision,” it tweeted.
The chief ministers of BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, Assam and Haryana also promised to give preference to retired firefighters in recruitment in state police forces. However, there was a boil over this plan in many places in Bihar. There were reports of protesters pelting stones on the Patliputra Express passing through Buxar station, but there was no official confirmation.
In Muzaffarpur town, a large number of army candidates vented their anger by putting burning tires on the roads around the huge Chakkar Maidan. Some said they were eager to know about the new scheme, which came after two years of not being recruited by the armed forces despite passing the required physical tests. Police lathi-charged to quell the protest.
In Begusarai, Army candidates, many of them NCC cadets, held a demonstration at Mahadev Chowk, where they carried a huge poster demanding the withdrawal of the new defense reform initiative. A militant Congress along with the party leader attacked the government Rahul Gandhi The warning ‘Agneepath’ will reduce the operational effectiveness of those armed forces whose dignity and valor should not be compromised.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also hit out at the government and asked why it was making army recruitment its “laboratory”. “When India is faced with threats on two fronts, the unplanned Agneepath plan undermines the operational effectiveness of our armed forces. Rahul Gandhi said on Twitter, BJP government should stop compromising on the dignity, traditions, valor and discipline of our forces.
Vadra said that no serious thought or consultation was done before the announcement of the plan. “Why is the BJP government making recruitment in the armed forces its laboratory? Is the government considering the long service of soldiers as a burden? The youth are saying that this 4-year rule is a hoax. Our ex-servicemen also disagree with this. No discussion, no serious thinking on the sensitive issue of army recruitment. Just arbitrary,” she said. The main opposition party had on Tuesday expressed concern about the future of the youth after completing four years of contractual service under the scheme.
“Four years later, in the age group of 22 to 25 years, how will these youth build their future without any additional qualifications? Isn’t it true that when a regular soldier also returns home after 15 years of service, most of the time he gets a job as a guard or security guard in a bank? So what will this 23 to 25 year old youth do after four years of contract service,” Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala had asked. “Will his life not be in limbo and will he be drawn to some wrong path in search of livelihood and a good life? Will the Modi government respond to these concerns,” he had said, expressing his party’s displeasure over the plan.
Keeping in view the concerns over the future career prospects of Agniveers, the Ministry education (MoE) has decided to launch a special three-year skill-based graduate degree program for them. An MoE official said the degree programs offered by the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) would be recognized both in India and abroad for employment and education.
The Army, Navy and Air Force will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IGNOU for the implementation of the scheme. “The degree program will recognize the in-service training received by Agniveers as credit for graduation and open up opportunities for them to pursue civilian careers of their choice,” said the MoE official.
Meanwhile, a day after the government unveiled the plan, the Army said it would recruit 40,000 soldiers in the coming months. Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen BS Raju said, “The Indian Army will recruit 25,000 ‘Agnivars’ in the next 180 days and the process of recruiting the remaining 15,000 will begin a month after that.” He said that the recruitment drive would be conducted in all 773 districts across the country.
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