Agnipath scheme will create `dreadful` situation in country, withdraw it: AAP to PM Narendra Modi

Agnipath scheme: Terming the Centre`s decision to introduce the military recruitment yojana `an outrageous move and a foolish decision` and `petty political trickery`, AAP MP Sanjay Singh accused the Narendra Modi government of going ahead with such a military recruitment plan only to claim that through `this short-cut` it employed lakhs of people in one stroke.

New Delhi: As the Opposition and protestors continue to demand the rollback of the Agnipath scheme, AAP MP Sanjay Singh on Wednesday (June 22) urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "immediately" withdraw the military recruitment yojana, claiming the nation will face a "dreadful situation" otherwise. In a letter to PM Modi, Singh said the implementation of Agnipath scheme would "destroy" the basic structure and capability of the army. With the scheme offering a four-year service with no pension and other benefits, Singh said this might lead to anti-national and criminal outfits misleading the youth who would not be able to get employment and face financial hardships after their short-term service. 

Highlighting the short training period of merely six months, the AAP MP said, "It is astonishing that the government is preparing to deploy crores of youths in front of the enemy's bayonets by providing them merely six months of training.” 

Further, he said no power in the world can compete with the soldiers our Army has today because they underwent "one-and-a-half to two years" of rigorous and efficient training. "Without adequate training, what will our youth be able to do other than endangering their lives as well as the security and sovereignty of the country?" the AAP leader questioned. 

Singh claimed if the recruitment scheme is imposed, it will push crores of the country's youths into "the dark lane of despair and depression". "In the coming years, this scheme will create such a dreadful situation in the country that perhaps the government and its machinery of that time will have to deploy all its energy in dealing with it," he added.

Terming the Centre’s decision to introduce the Agnipath scheme "an outrageous move and a foolish decision" and "petty political trickery”, Singh accused the Central government of going ahead with such a military recruitment plan only to claim that through "this short-cut" it employed lakhs of people in one stroke. He urged the PM to "immediately withdraw this black scheme."

Earlier on Wednesday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had said that PM Modi will have to take back the Agnipath scheme just like the three controversial farm laws.

(With agency inputs)