PM will have to become 'maafiveer', take back 'Agnipath': Rahul Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi. File Pic

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has hit out at PM Narendra Modi and over the 'Agnipath' scheme said that just as he had to withdraw the farm laws, he will have to accept the demand of the youth and rollback the Agnipath defense recruitment scheme.

Gandhi also said that for eight consecutive years, the BJP government has "insulted" the values of 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan'. In a tweet in Hindi, Gandhi said, "I had said earlier also that the prime minister will have to withdraw the black farm laws." "In the same manner, he will have to accept the demand of the youth of the country by becoming 'maafiveer' and take back the 'Agnipath' scheme," he said.

Unveiling the scheme on June 14, the government said youths between the ages of 17-and-a-half and 21 years would be inducted for a four-year tenure while 25 per cent of the recruits will be retained for regular service.

After the announcement of the scheme, protests have broken out across the country. A man was shot dead in police firing in Telangana's Secunderabad, trains went up in flames, and public and private vehicles were attacked, as railway stations and highways turned into battlegrounds in many states on June 17.

The new scheme for the recruitment of soldiers in the three services was projected by the government as a major overhaul of the decades-old selection process to enhance the youthful profile of the three services.

Also Read: Loopholes in any scheme can be removed: Ajit Pawar on protests over Agnipath

With inputs from PTI