Friday, 09 February 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The secretary of All India Congress Committee (AICC) Pravin Davar has said that the Agnipath scheme has shattered the dreams of 1.5 lakh youngsters who joined as Agniveers in the three wings of the armed forces of the country between 2019 and 2022.
Interacting with the media persons at the headquarters of Uttarakhand Congress on Thursday, Davar said former president of Congress party Rahul Gandhi has undertaken a Jai Jawan Yatra on January 31 from Bihar. The Yatra will expose the Modi government on the injustice done to the youngsters. The campaign will focus on the misery of 1.5 lakh youngsters who cleared a tough selection process for recruitment in the army, navy and air force. He said that the Congress wants the government to take back the Agnipath scheme and give permanent recruitment to the 1.5 lakh youngsters and the old system of recruitment. The Jai Jawan campaign will have three phases and will end on March 20.
Davar said that in the first phase (February 1 to 28), the party aims to reach out to 30 lakh families in the country. In this phase the party workers will distribute an injustice letter to the youngsters aspiring to serve in the armed forces of the country. The Congress workers will request support of the youngsters and record the information provided in the form in digital format.
In the second phase (March 5 to 10) the party workers will reach out to a maximum number of youngsters and include them in the campaign. The party will organise Dharnas in all the cities during this period.
In the third phase (March 17 to 20), Nyay Yatras (foot marches) will be taken out in all the districts during which the party workers will travel 50 km on foot. Davar claimed that the former chief of armed forces (COAS) general (retd) MM Naravane has said that the Agnipath scheme has dealt a blow to the armed forces of the country. As per him this scheme was earlier conceptualised only for the army but later air force and navy were also included in it. Davar said that general Naravane said that earlier it was planned that 75 per cent of retention of Agniveers will be done but later it was scaled down to 25 per cent which is humiliating.
The Congress leader said that the government earned more than Rs 100 crore from more than 50 lakh youngsters as fees for recruitment.
Listing disadvantages of the Agnipath scheme, Davar said that Agniveers get a paltry salary of Rs 21,000 per month while regular Jawan gets a salary of Rs 45,000. The Agniveers do not get the status of martyr. The youngsters selected under Agnipath scheme do not get medical and other facilities.
He said that about 34 lakh youngsters applied for Agnipath scheme in the year 2022-23 which has reduced to 10 lakhs in the year 2023-24 which shows that the inclination of youth is decreasing towards armed forces.
