New Delhi: A hashtag ‘#ModiMustResign’ that began on Thursday is still trending on Twitter. The hashtag first began over Sri Lanka-Adani issue.
Now, the netizens are slamming the government over the Agnipath scheme. The scheme has met an unprecedented level of agitations and protests in several states across India.
Sharing a video of an agitation, one of the Twitterati wrote, ‘The worst step taken by the government. Destroyed life of lakh’s of young boys’.
Another user targeting Modi’s followers by tweeting, “now andhbhakts will say, ‘Modiji ne kiya hai to soch samajh kar kiya hoga’”.
Following are some of the reactions of netizens:
What is Agnipath scheme?
On Tuesday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced that the Union Cabinet has approved a recruitment scheme, ‘Agnipath’ for Indian youth to serve in the Armed Forces. The youth selected under this scheme will be known as ‘Agnivers’.
The tenure of ‘Agnivers’ is four year. At the end of the service, they will be given an exit retirement package.
However, after the announcement of the scheme, massive protests erupted in Bihar, Rajasthan and some other states. Defence service aspirants disrupted rail and road traffic in several parts of Bihar.
They are against limited term of employment followed by compulsory retirement for most without gratuity and pension benefits.
The opposition also hit out the government over the scheme. The Congress said that the scheme carries multiple risks and subverts the longstanding traditions and ethos of the armed forces.
How government responded?
Amid protest and agitation against the new Army recruitment scheme, the Centre on Thursday raised the upper-age limit for recruitment under the Agnipath scheme to 23 years from 21 years for the year 2022.
“Consequent to the commencement of the AGNIPATH scheme, the entry age for all new recruits in the Armed Forces has been fixed as 17 and a half – 21 years of age. Cognizant of the fact that it has not been possible to undertake the recruitment during the last two years, the Government has decided that a one-time waiver shall be granted for the proposed recruitment cycle for 2022,” the government said in a statement.
With inputs from agencies
