Agnipath Scheme: BJP ally JD(U) calls for review of Agniveer recruitment

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ally Janata Dal-United (JDU) on Wednesday called for review of the Agnipath scheme. JDU secretary and spokesperson, KC Tyagi, said that the Agniveer scheme must be “revisited” and “looked into”.

He said there was dissatisfaction among a large section of army aspirants when the Agnipath scheme was launched in June 2022 and its impact was seen in the Lok Sabha elections 2024 also.

The Agnipath scheme provides for recruitment of youths in the age bracket of 17.5 years to 21 years for a four-year period with a provision to retain 25 percent of them for 15 more years. Not only will the rest of the candidates have to retire, they will not be eligible for pension benefits also.

“Our position on the Agniveer scheme is the same but we will try to have coordination instead of confrontation,” Tyagi told Aaj Tak. “There is a need to revisit the Agniveer scheme. When the agniveer scheme was announced, there was discontent among a large section of defence personnel and army aspirants. I believe that their families also showed their protest in this election. There is a need to look into it and for discussion on the scheme.”

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JDU has won 12 seats out of 16 it contested in General elections 2024 in the state.

‘Scrap Agniveer scheme’

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav demanded scrapping of Agniveer scheme along with age relaxation for army aspirants.

“I think the Agniveer system should be scrapped immediately. Government should admit that it made a mistake, that it should not have introduced the Agniveer system. Not only this, the government should also provide age relaxation to candidates who want to join armed forces,” Akhilesh Yadav told the media in Delhi.

SP, part of the Congress-led Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA bloc), won 37 seats in Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha elections 2024.

Earlier in March, former defence minister Rajnath Singh said the government is "open" to bring any change in Agnipath Scheme "if required". Congress party had promised to scrap the Agnipath scheme if it was voted to power.

Agnipath scheme was launched by the Modi government in June 2022 for the recruitment of soldiers to the Indian armed forces such as the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force on a short-term contractual basis. This scheme has been launched with the aim to cut down the huge defence expenses towards the salary and pension of the officials of the armed forces and also to manage a youthful profile for the Indian armed forces.