The countrywide protests against Agnipath — the Centre’s recently-unveiled scheme for short-term contractual recruitment of soldiers in the armed forces — have been most widespread in Bihar. Amid the intensifying stir against the scheme, the BJP’s national spokesperson Guru Prakash Paswan speaks to The Indian Express on a range of issues including the key ally Janata Dal (United)’s reservation against Agnipath, youth anger, and the party-led central government’s employment drive. Excerpts: Don't you think the Centre got it wrong by curtailing the tenure of a soldier’s job from over 15 years to just 4 years, which seems to be the main angst of protesting youth and students? There has been a lot of misinformation going on about Agnipath. There have been extensive consultations with former Army officers and servicemen before devising the scheme. It is a well-thought-out scheme. The Centre has raised age limit now. There are also clear-cut plans about the jobs that 75 per cent Agniveers (recruits) would get after completion of their stint in defence forces. Several states have also come up with assurances about giving priority to Agniveers in state police jobs. Students say the Centre must not play with their emotions and that defence forces recruitment rules should not be changed as it involves passion and high stakes including one's life? In the last eight years (of BJP-led NDA rule), a lot of attempts have been made to cater to youth interest. The Centre has done a phenomenal job. Our two victories in general elections and also in several state elections, in which we also got some thumping mandates, show our government's popularity. We have full support of youth as we brought schemes like start-up and Mudra loan schemes. Our government has provided more government jobs so far than those given in the entire UPA government’s tenure. Besides, the NDA government has now announced to provide 10 lakh jobs. How do you react to the growing demand for rollback of the Agnipath scheme? I don't think that is going to happen. The Agnipath scheme came up after due consultation with all stakeholders. The scheme has also been getting support from senior Congress leaders like Manish Tewari, who praised the concept behind it. There are faultlines between the two key Bihar allies, BJP and JD(U), on various issues, from caste census to population control to Agnipath now. Your comments? Our relations are very old. JD(U) is one of our oldest allies. We fought the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections under Nitish Kumar's leadership and mentorship of PM Narendra Modi. Nitish Kumar would remain CM till the rest of his term. As for differences of opinions, we are different political parties and come from different moorings. In any case, dissent is a healthy sign in a democratic set-up. This is the second major youth protest after the one over the Railway Recruitment Board exam early this year. Don't you sense unemployed youth’s ire reaching a flashpoint now. How would the BJP deal with it? One cannot gauge the mood of youth because of protests here and there. We are certainly concerned about youth and they can put up their concerns before the authorities concerned. But these protests are not reflective of mood of entire youth. In fact, they are a major stakeholder in the government with several welfare schemes in place for them. Certain Opposition leaders are surely trying to foment trouble. But the scale of work being done does not leave scope for cynicism. People of the country are solidly behind the leadership of Narendra Modi.
