The Aryavarth Express
Agency (New Delhi): The Congress party accused the Modi government on Monday of jeopardizing national security and the future of the youth through the Agnipath military recruitment scheme, vowing to repeal the policy if they return to power.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, in a video statement posted on X, described the Agnipath scheme as the contribution of the “outgoing prime minister,” arguing that it undermines national security and significantly reduces military recruitment.
“This is playing with national security and the future of the youth. Before Agnipath, about 75,000 youth were recruited annually into the armed forces, and now that has been reduced by one-fourth,” Ramesh stated. He criticized the scheme’s six-month training period, suggesting it inadequately prepares recruits to defend India’s borders against China and Pakistan.
Ramesh recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s June 2020 statement, which the Congress interprets as a “clean chit of China,” claiming it weakened India’s negotiating stance. He emphasized that the chiefs of the army, navy, and air force had initially opposed the Agnipath scheme, and former army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane mentioned this opposition in his book.
“The outgoing PM will have to answer after June 4 as to why Agnipath was brought in and our national security played with,” Ramesh added.
In a Hindi post accompanying his video statement, Ramesh stated, “Outgoing Prime Minister Narendra Modi has brought this scheme without any discussion. Even the armed forces had not given consent for this. This policy has compromised our capabilities against China.”
The Agnipath scheme, introduced in June 2022, aims to reduce the age profile of the armed forces by recruiting young people aged 17-and-a-half to 21 for a four-year term, with a provision to retain 25% of them for an additional 15 years.
Ramesh asserted that the Congress party would scrap the Agnipath policy upon coming to power, citing concerns over its impact on national security and military effectiveness.