Agnipath Scheme: Sena Slams Bihar Minister's 'Army of Eunuchs' Remarks, Demands Sacking

Mumbai, Feb 24 (IANS) The ruling Shiv Sena condemned and demanded the sacking of a Bihar Minister for his objectionable comments on the Centre`s Agnipath scheme for the youth, here on Friday.

Shiv Sena Chief Spokesperson Krishna Hegde said that the Bihar Cooperative Minister Surendra Prasad Yadav had criticised the Agnipath scheme using a derogatory term while referring to the armed forces.

"We strongly condemn his remarks. Yadav must apologise for his utterances. We demand that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar should sack him from the cabinet and take appropriate action against him," said Hegde.

Targetting the Agnipath scheme on Thursday, Yadav had said that in eight-and-half years from now, "the country will have an army of eunuchs after all the old people who are currently serving in the Indian Army will retire".

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), to which Yadav belongs, has washed its hands off his remarks, while the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party slammed the Minister saying it shows his `mental imbalance`.

Yadav also slammed the short-term recruitment policy for Indian youth to join the armed forces saying that after their stint is over, nobody would marry their daughters to such unemployed persons, sparking a major political row.

(The above article is sourced from news agency IANS. Zeenews.com has made no editorial changes to the article. News agency IANS is solely responsible for the contents of the article)