Hanuman Beniwal opposes Agnipath Scheme, announces protest

Jaipur: RLP leader and Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal Wednesday opposed the Central government’s Agnipath scheme for the recruitment of soldiers on a short-term contractual basis, and announced a protest against it on June 16.

He said the government should withdraw the scheme, unveiled on Tuesday, and conduct rallies to recruit youths in the armed forces as earlier.

On June 16, the party joined by youths will lodge protests at all district headquarters of the state (Rajasthan) against the contractual recruitment in the army and submit memoranda. The Centre should start army recruitment rallies and give two-year age relaxation to the youths,” Beniwal tweeted.

He said there is a strong resentment among the youth against the Center for not holding army recruitment rallies for the last two years and not completing the process of recruitment rallies held earlier and now due to the plan to recruit in the army on contract .

The transformative scheme called ‘Agnipath’ was announced by the government for the recruitment of soldiers in the Army, the Navy and the Air Force largely on a short-term contractual basis to cut the ballooning salary and pension bills and enable a youthful profile of the armed forces,

Under the ‘Agnipath’ scheme, Indian youths will be provided an opportunity to serve in the armed forces as ‘Agniveer’.

Beniwal said the Agneepath Scheme is a joke with the youths of the country. Recruiting young man into the army under the Agneepath scheme to give six-month weapon training and removing them after four years will lead to incidents of gang war.

The Centre should withdraw the scheme and recruit soldiers in the army as before, he said.