Diluting Quality Of Training, Professional Opportunities In Army: Shashi Tharoor Criticizes Agniveer Scheme

New Delhi: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor criticized the Centre for the Agniveer scheme, asserting that training soldiers for just six months and having them serve for 3-4 years undermines the quality of training and the professional opportunities available to the Indian Army.

Congress leader said that the Indian Army is one of the most professional armies in the world and maintaining that professionalism is in the interest of the entire nation.

"When you create a situation where soldiers can be trained for 6 months and serve for 3-4 years, you are diluting the quality of training and professional opportunities available to the Indian Army," Tharoor said, ANI reported. 

Tharoor further added that Congress will scrap the scheme whenever they come into power. 

"I believe it is deeply damaging, the only rationale for it is indeed to save money on the pension and therefore I think that the Congress stands justified in its insistence that we will scrap the scheme when we come to power," he added.

During his address in Kargil on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the Agnipath scheme as a celebration of the 25th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas. PM said that the goal of Agnipath was to make the Army young and keep the Army continuously fit for war.  

"The country has felt the need for major reforms in the defence sector for decades. The army has been demanding this for years, but unfortunately, it was not given enough importance earlier. The Agnipath scheme is also an example of the necessary reforms done in the Army. For decades, discussions have been going on in Parliament and many committees on making the army young," PM Modi said during his address.

Several BJP-ruled state chief ministers including Yogi Adityanath, Himanta Sarma and others have announced reservations for Agniveers in their respective states.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma said that the government has decided to give reservations to Agniveers in the police department and as prison guards and forest guards once they complete their service in the Indian Army.

Along with this, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said that his government will recruit most Agniveers into the state police. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also announced on Friday that Agniveers, after serving the country, will be given weightage in recruitment for the UP Police and Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) forces.