Agnipariksha to path of fire, Opposition slams govt, seeks rethink on Agnipath scheme

The Left parties asked the government to scrap it, with CPI(M) saying that the scheme does “disservice to India’s national interests”, as “professional armed forces cannot be raised by recruiting ‘soldiers on contract’ for four years”. The party also called it “criminal” to “call upon our youth to be prepared to make the supreme sacrifice without the minimum protection of job security”.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to listen to the voice of unemployed youths and not take “agnipariksha (trial by fire)” of their patience by making them walk on Agnipath, while RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said the Centre had promised to create 80 crore jobs by 2022 and has now come up with an MGNREGA-like scheme for the educated youth in defence services.

Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal urged the government to give the youth a chance to serve the country throughout their life, and not just for four years. “The youth are upset. Their demands are absolutely right. The Army is India’s pride, and our youth want to give their entire life to the country. Don’t tie their dreams to the provision of four years,” Kejriwal said.

BSP chief Mayawati said the scheme is “unfair” towards the rural youth and urged the Centre to immediately “reconsider” its decision.

Addressing the media at AICC headquarters with Ajay Maken and Sachin Pilot, former Union minister P Chidambaram said the scheme is “controversial, carries multiple risks, subverts the long-standing traditions and ethos of the armed forces and there is no guarantee that soldiers recruited under the scheme will be better trained and motivated to defend the country”.

Chidambaram said: “Our first concern is that the Agnipath soldier will be trained for six months and will serve for another 42 months, when 75 per cent of the recruits will be discharged. It appears to us that the scheme makes a mockery of training; inducts into the defence forces an ill-trained and ill-motivated soldier; and discharges a disappointed and unhappy ex-soldier into society…”

He said the stated objective of savings on the pension bill of the forces is a weak argument and has not been established beyond doubt. “On the other hand, the short period of training (6 months) and the unusually short period of service (42 months) may have negative consequences on quality, efficiency and effectiveness. We fear the scheme may turn out to be a case of ‘penny wise and security foolish’,” he said.

Chidambaram said, “We would urge the government to keep the Agnipath scheme in abeyance, hold wide consultations with serving and retired officers, and address the issues of quality, efficiency and economy without compromising on any of the three considerations.”

Arguing that there has been no recruitment in the Army for the last two years, the CPI(M) Politburo stated, “Instead of recruiting regular soldiers into the armed forces, this scheme leaves such contract soldiers with no other prospects of employment after their four years. This creates a dangerous situation where they may end up serving private militias…”

CPI general secretary D Raja tweeted, “Finding jobs has become literally a ‘Path of Fire’ under Modi. The Government is trying to hoodwink the restive youth with the Agnipath scheme. It will make our army contract-based and jeopardise the future of our youth. It should be withdrawn immediately….”

Akhilesh Yadav said, “The expectation is of a very serious and long-term policy. The negligent attitude that is being adopted regarding military recruitment will prove to be fatal when it comes to protection of the future of the country and the youth.”

There were differences of views within the Congress as well. The party’s Lok Sabha MP, Manish Tewari, for instance, tweeted: “I do empathise with youth who have concerns over the Agnipath recruitment Process. Reality is India needs a younger armed force with lighter human footprint, savvy on technology, equipped with state-of-art weaponry. Armed forces of the Union shouldn’t be an employment guarantee programme.”