New Delhi: Congress chief stalwart Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday delivered a scathing critique of the central BJP authorities’s Agnipath scheme, saying that this system, which trains recruits for a mere six months, is grossly insufficient when in comparison with the five-year coaching routine of Chinese troopers. Gandhi warned of the dire penalties this disparity may carry on the battlefield. Gandhi pledged {that a} Congress-led authorities would dismantle the Agnipath scheme, which he described as ill-conceived by the prime minister and rejected by the army institution.
“Earlier, poor people used to join the sena (read Army). They (soldiers) used to get a pension and martyr status. The facility of the canteen was also available to them. Now they (Centre) say we are producing Agniveers by recruiting say four youths (under the scheme) and training them for six months,” the Congress MP stated. He questioned how an Agniveer may face a educated Chinese soldier.
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– @RahulGandhi जी
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“Chinese troopers will come after present process (fight) coaching for 5 years. You can perceive the consequence. Our son (Agniveer) will likely be martyred. Then we will likely be advised that he will not get the standing of martyr as a result of he’s Agniveer. You will neither get the canteen facility nor a pension.
“But the person he (Agniveer) will fight will say that ‘brother, you don’t get a pension, you don’t get canteen facility, you will not get the status of martyr either. But I am getting a canteen facility and will also get a pension. I will also get the martyr status’,” Gandhi stated. He stated if Congress involves energy, it’s going to scrap the Agniveer scheme.
The Agnipath scheme, launched in June 2022, goals to rejuvenate the armed forces by recruiting younger people for brief stints, with a small fraction retained for longer service. However, Gandhi’s narrative painted a grim image of the Agniveer’s future, missing in each recognition and advantages, standing in stark distinction to their adversaries.
The Congress in its manifesto “Nyay Patra” has promised to abolish the Agnipath/Agniveer scheme.
Gandhi additionally claimed the sena was not in favour of this scheme.
“If you ask the Army whether they want Agniveer (scheme), they will say they don’t want this scheme. This scheme is causing loss to us as well as the country. The Agniveer Yojana was conceptualised by the prime minister and a decision was taken by the PMO. The Army is against this scheme,” he claimed.
Had the sena needed the Agnipath scheme, I might have by no means stated from the stage that we might abolish it.
“The sena wants Agniveer Yojana to be cancelled and we are going to scrap it,” he added. Gandhi additionally listed varied guarantees talked about within the Congress manifesto for ladies, youths, farmers and the poor. He reiterated the Congress’ dedication to the caste-based census which he stated can be a “social X-ray”.
