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Agnipath Scheme: Here's Why Aspirants Are Protesting In Bihar, Rajasthan By Blocking Highway, Train Tracks
Writer: Snehadri Sarkar
While he is a massive sports fanatic, his interest also lies in mainstream news and nitpicking trending and less talked about everyday issues.
India, 16 Jun 2022 7:08 AM GMT
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Creatives : Snehadri Sarkar
While he is a massive sports fanatic, his interest also lies in mainstream news and nitpicking trending and less talked about everyday issues.
On Tuesday, the Union Cabinet had approved the Agnipath recruitment scheme for Indian youth to serve in the armed forces. Soldiers recruited under the scheme will be inducted into the armed forces as 'Agniveers'.
Just a day after the central government officially launched the 'Agnipath' scheme, huge protests erupted in numerous districts of Bihar on June 15. A protest was organised in Muzaffarpur city with hundreds and thousands of job aspirants who had previously cleared the physical examination opposing the Centre's new move.
"We have passed the physical examination and are waiting for the written examination. Now, the Centre has said that recruitment will take place only for four years. The Centre is playing with the future of the youths. What will we do after four years," an agitating job aspirant from Muzaffarpur was quoted as saying by News18.
Violent Protests In #Ara, #Bihar Over Centre's '#Agnipath' Scheme, Tear Gas Fired pic.twitter.com/KcqcGF0CJ4
— Prabhakar Kumar (@prabhakarjourno) June 16, 2022
Why Aspirants Are Protesting Against 'Agnipath' Scheme?
The agitating job aspirants claimed that they prepared themselves for the past five years to qualify for the physical examination, and now the central government is offering jobs only for only four years.
The protesters even burnt the effigies of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Amid the massive outrage against the scheme, the district police had to resort to a baton charge to disperse the angry crowd from Chakkar Chowk in Bhagwanpur and Mandi Chowk.
#अग्निवीर #Agniveers #Agnipath #tourofduty protest from maner, bihar@HansrajMeena @yadavtejashwi pic.twitter.com/d2K9DD0Fu0
— Dhiraj Kumar (@DhirajK22702206) June 15, 2022
Meanwhile, agitating students blocked the Patna-New Delhi main railway track for over two hours in Buxar.
Reactions To The Scheme!
Reacting to the protests, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav stated that after completing four years on a contract basis in the defence forces, what are these people supposed to do afterwards? He even questioned, "Would they do the job of guards of industrial units of BJP's business friends?"
Meanwhile, Defence experts opine that this scheme could encourage spying in defence establishments as well.
The #IndianArmy is NOT an employment generation organisation. Stop #Agnipath. #AgnipathRecruitmentScheme #Agniveer
— RadhakrishnanRK (@RKRadhakrishn) June 14, 2022
1 While #Agnipath may reduce some personnel shortages, the will overwhelmingly be in the logistics and support roles. It would be highly irresponsible, not to mention dangerous, to give the Agnipath recruits combat roles. Mostly this has to do with the enormous training
— Abhijit Iyer-Mitra (@Iyervval) June 15, 2022
Similar protests were staged in Rajasthan on June 14, where agitating aspirants blocked the Delhi-Ajmer highway, creating long traffic jams on the busy highway.
Within a day of the Agnipath scheme's announcement, protests kicked off in Jaipur as youngsters preparing for army recruitment tests gathered in big numbers and blocked the Delhi-Ajmer highway, shouting slogans against the scheme.
These protesters managed to block the highway for over an hour, leading to a 2 km-long traffic jam on both sides, creating problems for commuters. Later, the police had to intervene to remove the road blockage.
On Tuesday, the Union Cabinet had approved the Agnipath recruitment scheme for Indian youth to serve in the armed forces. Soldiers recruited under the scheme will be inducted into the armed forces as 'Agniveers'. The 'Agnipath' model will foresee the recruitment of personnel below officer rank (PBOR) in the army, air force and navy for four years, including six months of training.
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