Indore’s BJP National General Secretary and former Mayor Kailash Vijayvargiya, speaking to reporters on Sunday, said that he would always prefer to have an Agniveer as a security guard as people have faith in the army men.
His remark was picked up and flashed everywhere on the internet as well as on several TV news channels, following which the senior BJP leader was forced to clarify his earlier comment by tweeting on his official Twitter page. He said that his statement was clearly “distorted” by the media.
“Agniveer will definitely be trained and committed to duty, his excellence will be utilized in whatever field he will go after completing his service in the army. That is clearly what I meant,” he tweeted.
“People associated with the toolkit are trying to insult the workers by distorting my statement. This would be an insult to the workers of the country. The nation is well aware of the conspiracies of this toolkit gang against the national heroes-religionists,” he added.
There have been several comments from the ruling party leaders which have raised sharp criticism.
Earlier in the day, the Union Minister for Tourism G Kishan Reddy said, “Agniveers will be trained in skills such as drivers, electricians, washermen, and barbers. These skills will be helpful in different profiles.”
The future of the youth still remains a question mark with no clarity as to what would happen to them when they are told to leave the defence force after the completion of four years.
Even though the Central Government has announced benefits such as a 10% reservation will be allotted to the outgoing Agniveer in the Indian Coast Guard and defence civilian posts, and all the 16 Defence Public Sector Undertakings, Defence Ministry officials, protests have not slowed down.
However, these statements from BJP leaders come after “constant” reassurance from the Defence Ministry and senior officials from the three Armed Forces, that once out of service, the young Agniveer will have many employment opportunities.
Ever since the launch of the Agnipath scheme, the country is facing violent protests on a daily basis in many states such as Telangana, Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir etc. And it does not seems to slow down.
On Sunday, fresh cases of violence were reported from Bihar where a bandh was announced. In Ludhiana, Punjab, a railway station was vandalised.
The Agnipath move was simultaneous to the Prime Minister’s announcement of recruiting 10 lakh people over the next 18 months. The government recruiting 10 lakh people in mission mode over the next 18 months.
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