MANGALURU: The Congress deputy leader of Opposition in the Assembly, U T Khader, and Dakshina Kannada DCC president and MLC Harish Kumar, urged the government to withdraw the Agnipath military recruitment scheme.
The DCC will hold a one-day satyagraha against the scheme here soon, the party said.
Terming the scheme the outsourcing of recruitment in the Indian Army, Khader said it was an attempt to deny education and employment to the youth.
“The youth in India are attracted towards the forces, not just to secure a job. The spirit of patriotism inspires them to serve the country. The Congress stands in solidarity with the youth protesting in the country. The central government should withdraw the scheme, which has been causing unrest among the youth across the country. The youth have an apprehension that they are being denied opportunities to serve in the army,” Khader said.
“The BJP came to power with the promise of generating 2 crore jobs every year, but 13 crore people have lost their jobs because of the anti-people policies of the government, like demonetisation. For the first time after Independence, the government has considered recruitment to armed forces a financial burden,’’ he added.
“The new Agnipath scheme offers four years of service for youth in the armed forces. According to ex-servicemen, it takes at least seven years for the armed forces to train a soldier to take part in wars. Hence, what kind of service will those youth who are appointed for four years under the Agnipath scheme offer? The government should have held discussions with experts before implementing the scheme, instead of taking a unilateral decision,” Kumar added.
