Buoyed by election victory, Congress demands complete rollback of Agnipath scheme

NEW DELHI: Hardening its stand, Congress today demanded a complete rollback of the Agnipath scheme saying it was neither in the interest of the country nor the defence forces.

The party said the scheme was not acceptable even in any amended form.

Addressing a press conference, Congress Working Committee member and Rohtak MP, Deepender Singh Hooda while referring to certain reports that the government of India was considering making some amends in the scheme reiterated his party’s stand that it wants its complete withdrawal and restoration of the old system of recruitment before 2022.

The Congress leader quoted certain reports in the public domain that the government was considering increasing the service tenure of the Agniveers from four to seven years besides increasing the retention from 25 to 60-70 percent. He said, these changes were not acceptable to the Congress party and it will continue to oppose the Agnipath scheme in totality.

Hooda observed that the scheme was neither in the interest of the defence services, the country, the country’s security, nor the youth of the country. He said, the youth were feeling demoralized and there was a complete loss of interest among youth to join the defence services after the introduction of the Agnipath scheme.

Hooda demanded that the central government not only roll back the scheme but also disclose the circumstances, reasons, and at whose behest the scheme was launched. He pointed out, it was not asked for by the defence services either.

He said the scheme had been rejected by the people of the country as was obvious from the BJP’s poor performance in the states from where maximum recruitments take place, like Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu. The people in these states had punished the BJP for the Agnipath scheme also, he added.