A day after the Union Cabinet approved the Agnipath recruitment scheme for Indian youth to serve in the armed forces, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the new initiative will reduce the operational effectiveness of the armed forces.
In a tweet, the Wayanad MP said that when India faces threats on two fronts, the “uncalled for Agnipath scheme reduces the operational effectiveness of our armed forces.”
The BJP government must stop compromising the dignity, traditions, valour, and discipline of our forces, he added.
Earlier, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury echoed the same views on Tuesday.
Instead of raising a professional Army, the Narendra Modi-led BJP government proposes soldiers on contract to save pension money, he said.
“Training contract soldiers with no other prospects after 3-5 years but to serve private militias. Scrap this anti-national scheme,” he tweeted.
Retired Armymen also expressed different opinions about the scheme and the short-term involvement of the youth in the armed forces.
Talking to IANS, Major General (retd) P.K. Saighal said that the Indian Army is one of the best and most powerful forces in the world.
However, he felt that recruiting youth through the Agnipath model for three to four years is not right for the forces.
“A person takes around six to seven years to become a complete soldier. But these youth will be out of the job before that,” Saighal said.
Agnipath is a major defence policy reform introduced by the Indian Government and will now govern the enrolment for the three services.
Meanwhile, Army chief General Manoj Pande said that the Agnipath scheme aims to make the Army a future-ready fighting force capable of meeting multiple challenges across the full spectrum of conflict.
It will increase the technical threshold of the Army by recruiting ‘Agniveers’ through ITIs and other tech institutes, he added.
Indian Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar called the Agnipath scheme a new idea of the new era which is made in India and made for India.
This idea will have a positive impact on the human resources management of the armed forces, he added.
